title: Hepatitis B virus infection in a population exposed to occupational hazards: firefighters of a metropolitan region in central Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  By the nature of their activities, firefighters are exposed to a high risk of contracting hepatitis B virus (HBV) as most of the Fire Brigade occurrences in Campo Grande, State of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil, are related to the rescue of victims of traffic accidents and the transportation of clinical and psychiatric emergencies. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroepidemiological profile of HBV infection in firefighters from the City of Campo Grande, central Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research involved 308 firefighters. After giving written consent, they were interviewed and blood was collected for the detection of HBsAg, anti-HBs and total anti-HBc of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants had an average of 36.4 years of age (SD ± 6.5), being 89.9% male. Blood tests revealed 6.5% of seropositivity for hepatitis B (HB) infection (n=20), and 1% for HbsAg. Isolated anti-HBs markers, indicative of vaccine immunity, were found in 66.9% of the participants and 28.2% were susceptible to infection. With regard to risk factors for HB infection, multivariate regression analysis showed a statistically significant association with length of service; and prevalence was higher in individuals with over 20 years of service.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of HB found among the firefighters was low and length of time in the profession was found to be a risk factor. Non-occupational risk factors did not influence the occurrence of HB infection in the population studied.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, MS, Brasil. l.contrera@ufms.br
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Contrera-Moreno
authors.forename: Sonia Maria Oliveira
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: de Andrade
authors.forename: Elenir Rose Jardim Cury
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Pontes
authors.forename: Alcione Cavalheiro Faro
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Stief
authors.forename: Maurício Antonio
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pompilio
authors.forename: Ana Rita Coimbra
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Motta-Castro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D061388:Firefighters / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens