Occult B infection in the Brazilian northeastern region: a preliminary report.
A sentinel study on viral hepatitis is currently being carried out in the village of Cavunge in a semiarid rural region of the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. This study has identified individuals in whom anti-HBc IgG was the only serological marker for hepatitis B virus (HBV). This serological pattern may constitute evidence of occult HBV infection. This study Investigated the possibility of occult hepatitis B virus infection in individuals in a rural community who tested positive for anti-HBc IgG alone. A cross-sectional population-based study. ELISA III was performed on serum samples to test for serological viral markers, and ultrasensitive PCR (US-PCR) was used to assess viremia. Among the 1,536 serum samples, 3.6% (n=55) were positive for anti-HBc alone. Four years after this first serological survey, 31 of those 55 individuals (56.3%) were retested, and 11 (35.5%) remained anti-HBc positive alone. Two of these 31 (6.5%) were HBV-DNA positive based on US-PCR, with normal aminotransferase levels in both cases. Cases of occult hepatitis B infection were identified in this semiarid rural community of northeastern Brazil, where endemicity of HBV is moderate.
Almeida
Delvone
D
Medical School of Bahia, Post-graduation course in Health and Medicine, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. delvone@terra.com.br
Tavares-Neto
José
J
Trepo
Christian
C
Almeida
Alessandro
A
Mello
Caroline
C
Chemin
Isabelle
I
Paraná
Raymundo
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012424:Rural Population; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance
D015415:Biomarkers; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G