Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B virus infection among an afro-descendant community in Brazil
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
;
98(1): 13-17, Jan. 30, 2003. tab, graf
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-331376
RESUMO
Furnas dos Dionísios is an Afro-Brazilian black community whose descendants were mainly fugitive slaves that established themselves in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. The population is comprised mainly of low socioeconomic individuals who are engaged in agricultural activities. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B (HB) and its correlation with epidemiological data obtained from the community. The studied population totaled 260 individuals with ages varying from 1 to 79 years (median 20). One hundred thirty-three (51.2 percent) were females and 127 (48.8 percent) were males. A high prevalence for anti-HBc was observed (42.7 percent), with present infection detected in 9.2 percent of the subjects who were also HB surface antigens (HBs Ag) positive; 27.3 percent were anti-HBc and anti-HBs reactive, and 6.2 percent had anti-HBc as only marker. The prevalence for anti-HBc was proportional to age, reaching its highest peak in age categories greater than 50. No serological marker was detected in children under the age of 2 years, however anti-HBc was present in 12 subjects with ages between 2 and 14 years, of these 8 (7.4 percent) were HBsAg positive. Among individuals over the age of 15 years, 99 were anti-HBc reactive, of these 16 (10.5 percent) were also HBsAg positive, thus suggesting an increased prevalence of HBV carriers among children and adolescents. The risk factors observed in this community that were significantly associated with anti-HBc positivity were age (over 20 years) and having an anti-HBc positive mother. Both HBeAg and anti-HBe were detected in 44.4 percent of the samples tested. HBsAg subtypes found in the studied population were adw2 (77.7 percent) and ayw2 (23.3 percent). While intrafamilial transmission was most likely responsible for HBV infection among children, other routes such as sexual contact might be considered for individuals with ages over 15 years
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Hepatitis B
Type of study:
Risk factors
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
/
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
Journal subject:
Tropical Medicine
/
Parasitology
Year:
2003
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Fiocruz/BR
/
Secretaria de Saúde do Estado Mato Grosso do Sul/BR
/
Universidade Federal de Goiânia/BR
/
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul/BR
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS