[Hepatitis C: prevalence and risk factors among patients with HIV/AIDS in Belém Pará, in Brazilian Amazon].
The objective of this investigation was to study the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and to identify possible risk factors for its transmission, in 406 adult patients with HIV/AIDS who attended at public health services, in Belém city, Pará, Brazil. The anti-HCV was performed by third generation immunoenzymatic technique, and the HCV RNA by polymerase chain reaction. The overall prevalence of hepatitis C virus was 16% (CI: 12.4 - 19.6). Multivariate analysis showed association between virus C infection and age, with significant risk in the group about fifty years old or more (OR=9.75), blood transfusion (OR=4.74) and use of injecting drugs (OR=149.28). The hepatitis C virus infection was detected in 83.7% of intravenous drug users and 22.1% of transfused patients. These data indicate the efficient transmission of the virus through the percutaneous exposition and reaffirm the high risk to hepatitis C among injectable illicit drug user.
Monteiro
Maria Rita de Cassia Costa
MR
Departamento de Patologia Tropical do Curso de Medicina do Centro de Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brasil. marita@ufpa.br
do Nascimento
Margarida Maria Passeri
MM
Passos
Afonso Dinis Costa
AD
Figueiredo
José Fernando de Castro
JF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012328:RNA Viruses; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D015415:Biomarkers; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies