Changes in hepatitis A virus seroepidemiology in HIV-infected Brazilian patients.
Shifting of hepatitis A virus (HAV) epidemiology from a high towards an intermediate endemicity pattern and use of antiretroviral therapy increased the risk of HIV/HAV coinfection in developing countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of HAV markers in a cohort of HIV-infected patients from 1988 to 2004. The presence of serum anti-HAV antibodies and HAV-RNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction was investigated in 581 patients. Total anti-HAV antibodies was found in 464/581 (79.8%) patients, however, a changing epidemiologic pattern of hepatitis A among HIV-infected patients from 1988 to 2004 was observed. Among patients susceptible to HAV (n = 117), 5 (4.2%) were coinfected with HAV, all of them had IgM anti-HAV antibodies and were serum HAV-RNA-positive. The high prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies in HIV-infected patients suggests that screening tests for anti-HAV antibodies should be performed before implementation of hepatitis A vaccination, especially in those patients from endemic countries.
Aloise
R
R
Department of Virology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
de Almeida
A J
AJ
Sion
F S
FS
Morais-de-Sá
C A
CA
Gaspar
A M C
AM
de Paula
V S
VS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines