RESUMO
Sera from 269 Hmong people (102 males and 167 females, with mean age 35.4 years, range 16-63 years) were examined in order to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis virus infection. The seroprevalence rates for HAV (hepatitis A virus), HBV (hepatitis B virus), HCV (hepatitis C virus), HDV (hepatitis D virus), HEV (hepatitis E virus), HGV (hepatitis G virus) and TTV (TT virus) infection were 87.8% (n=140), 76.0% (n=150), 2.0% (n=150), 0.7% (n=150), 6.5% (n=139), 5.3% (n=94) and 25.6% (n=121) respectively. The rate for carriers of HBV (HBsAg) was 13.8% (20.5% in males and 9.6% females) with a peak prevalence in the 21-40 year age group. A high rate of HAV seropositivity was found among the younger subjects. The rate of HEV seroprevalence was low. The prevalence of TTV-DNA was high with no difference between the sexes. HGV-RNA prevalence was low and seen primarily in males. This study indicates that the Hmong people are endemically infected with HAV and HBV infection and should be considered for targeted vaccination. The role of TTV and HGV in producing illness and hepatic disease has yet to be determined in this population.
Assuntos
Adolescente , Adulto , Distribuição por Idade , Portador Sadio/etnologia , Criança , DNA Viral/análise , Doenças Endêmicas/prevenção & controle , Feminino , Vírus GB C/genética , Hepacivirus/genética , Vírus da Hepatite A/genética , Vírus da Hepatite B/genética , Vírus de Hepatite/genética , Hepatite Viral Humana/etnologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Vigilância da População , Prevalência , RNA Viral/análise , Fatores de Risco , Estudos Soroepidemiológicos , Distribuição por Sexo , Tailândia/epidemiologia , Torque teno virus/genética , VacinaçãoRESUMO
Anti-HIV testing using gelatin particle agglutination (GPA) assay was investigated in parallel with ELISAs from routine service at Siriraj Hospital. In the first strategy, 174,032 sera from a patient population with an HIV-1 seroprevalence of 13.72 per cent were assayed using reduced volumes of GPA reagents, giving a cost reduction of 40 per cent. In the second strategy, 90,560 pregnant women and 48,936 emigrant workers with an HIV-1 seroprevalence of 2.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively, were tested in pools of 4 sera using the manufacturer's recommended volumes, giving a cost saving of 67 per cent. Overall, the sensitivity and specificity were almost identical with standard methods. Thus, parallel use of either modified GPA might be considered appropriate when testing large numbers of samples. However, both modified versions of GPA are not recommended as the first assay for diagnostic or blood bank screening especially in high prevalence of HIV infection.