Prevalence of hepatitis B and C markers in a population of an urban university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a cross-sectional study
Journal Title: Annals of Hepatology - Year 2015, Vol 14, Issue 6
Abstract
Background and rationale. Epidemics of hepatitis B and C are a public health burden, and their prevalence in Brazil varies among regions. We determined the prevalence of hepatitis markers in an urban university population in order to support the development of a comprehensive program for HBV immunization and HBV/HCV diagnosis. Students, employees, and visitors (n = 2,936, 31 years IQR 24.5-50, female = 69.0% and 81.1% with at least 12 years of education) were enrolled from May to November 2013. Antibodies against hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs), against hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were detected with enzyme immunoassays and anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) antibodies with a chemiluminescence immunoassay. The results were confirmed with polymerase chain reaction for HCV and nucleic acid amplification test for hepatitis B virus (HBV). Results. The overall prevalence of markers among the participants was 0.136% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.003-0.270) for HBsAg, 6.44% (95% CI: 5.55-7.33%) for anti-HBc, 50.8% (95% CI: 48.9-52.7%) for anti-HBs > 10 mIU/mL, and 0.44% (95% CI: 0.20-0.68) for anti-HCV. Almost 30.4% had anti-HBs titers > 100 mIU/mL. Participants with a detectable HCV viral load (n = 9) were infected with genotype 1a. Conclusions. In an urban university population, in which 80% of participants had > 11 years of education, prevalence increased with age, and self-declared ethnicity for anti-HBc and with age, marital status and professional activity for anti-HCV antibodies. A periodical offer of HCV rapid testing should be implemented, and HBsAg rapid testing should be offeredto individuals above 20 years of age.
Authors and Affiliations
Félix Pinto, Orlando Ferreira Jr. , Daniele Olmedo, Patrícia Precioso, Fernanda Barquette, Magda Castilho, Suely Silva, Luís Pôrto
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP78511
- DOI 10.5604/16652681.1171756
- Views 125
- Downloads 0
Drug-induced fatty liver disease: An overview of pathogenesis and management
Over the past decades, many drugs have been identified, that can potentially induce steatohepatitis in the predisposed individual. Classically this has been incriminated to amiodarone, perhexiline, and 4,4’-diethylaminoe...
Assessment of intrahepatic regulatory T cells in children with autoimmune hepatitis
Background. T-cell populations regulate the balance of immune responses. The CD (Cluster of differentiation) 4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are crucial for maintaining negative control of various immune responses. T...
Evidence that estrogen receptors play a limited role in mediating enhanced recovery of bile flow in female rats in the acute phase of liver ischemia reperfusion injury
[b]Introduction[/b]. Female patients exhibit better survival and less hepatic damage from ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury following surgery. However, the effects of sex and estrogens on liver function in the acute phase...
Use of albumin in the treatment of cirrhosis:introduction
Room-temperature susceptometry predicts biopsy-determined hepatic iron in patients with elevated serum ferritin
Background. There is an ongoing clinical need for novel methods to measure hepatic iron content (HIC) noninvasively. Both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) methods h...