ABSTRACT
In a multicenter study, 970 serum samples were collected from venezuelan health workers. Presence of HBV serological markers (HBsAg, antiHBs and total anticore) were screened by microELISA. Two-hundred and forty-seven samples (27%) showed at least one positive marker, being the most frequently found the antisurface antibody which was present in different working areas, including those considered at the low exposure level (medicine 24.7%). The proportion of antisurface positive samples also was significantly higher in the group with more than 10 years of service compared to the prevalence showed by the group with less than 5 years (19.1 vs 12.8%). Groups considered to be at low risk, contrary to the expected results, showed a similar or higher prevalence compared to the groups classified as continues or frequent exposure (17.7 vs 8.6%). Our findings suggest a permanent HBV load circulation at the venezuelan hospitals environment.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B virus , Hepatitis B/epidemiology , Occupational Exposure , Personnel, Hospital , Biomarkers , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Hepatitis B/microbiology , Hepatitis B virus/chemistry , Humans , Prevalence , Risk Factors , Time Factors , Venezuela/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Specific and nonspecific cell-mediated effector mechanisms have been simultaneously assayed in 15 aged humans. 8 were female and 7 male, including a 114-year-old male in remarkably good health. Proliferative response to alloantigens, the generation of T killer cells and the ability to express cell-mediated lympholysis as well as the presence of natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity against K562 tumor cell line and the capacity to mount an ADCC response to RhD+ human red blood cell sensitized with anti-D antisera, revealed that in the human aged, while T function significantly declines, nonspecific cell-mediated effector mechanisms are operative.
