title: Serological markers of hepatitis A, B and C viruses in rural communities of the semiarid Brazilian northeast.
abstract: In the village of Cavunge, located in a dry tropical, semiarid rural region of the state of Bahia, Brazil, a sentinel study on viral hepatitis is underway. We report on the first part of the study. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of serological markers for hepatitis A, B and C in the village. Cross sectional study. Blood samples were tested for serological markers of hepatitis A (HAV), B (HBV) and C (HCV) through ELISA-III assay. In HBsAg and anti-HCV carriers, HCV-RNA and HBV-DNA were checked by PCR. The prevalence of anti-HAV IgG was 83.3% (1,210/1,452), being higher among residents from the village (87.4%) than in residents from the rural area (79.5%); it also higher among individuals older than 10 years of age. The prevalence of HBsAg was 2.6% (38/1,476), 9.3% anti-HBc (137/1,476) and 10.5% (155/1,476) anti-HBs of. In more than half (58.1%; 90/155) of anti-HBs carriers, this was the only serological marker found. In 3.7% of the population, (55/1,476), anti-HBc was the only serological marker found. All HBV carriers were infected by genotype A. Only 0.4% (6/1,536) presented anti-HCV antibodies and only one of them was viremic, being infected with genotype 1. The prevalence of patients with antibodies against hepatitis A virus in the village of Cavunge was high, but the prevalence of B virus was moderate, with only genotype A among HBV carriers. The prevalence of C virus was very low, contrasting with the situation in large Brazilian urban centers.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine of Bahia, Post-graduation Program in Health and Medicine, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. delvone@terra.com.br
authors.forename: Delvone
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tavares-Neto
authors.forename: Ludmila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vitvitski
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Santana
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tatsch
authors.forename: Raymundo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paraná
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D007074:Immunoglobulin G