Hepatitis B Virus Infection among People Who Use Illicit Drugs: Prevalence, Genotypes and Risk Factors in the State of Amapá, Northern Brazil

Detection and Genetic Characterization of Hepatitis B and D Viruses: A Multi-Site Cross-Sectional Study of People Who Use Illicit Drugs in the Amazon Region

“…Third, the frequency of HBV genotypes and subgenotypes among PWUDs in the Amazon region identified HBV genotype A with the highest frequency, followed by genotypes D and F. This pattern is consistent with other studies conducted in the Brazilian Amazon, both in the general population and in high-risk groups (PWUDs and female sex workers) [7,8,13,[37][38][39]66]. Among people with OBI, the presence of genotypes A (A1 and A2) and F (F2) has been recorded in the Amazon region [42].…”

“…This cross-sectional study was based on biological and self-reported socio-behavioral data from a respondent-driven sample of 1074 PWUDs from epidemiological studies conducted in municipalities located in the Brazilian states of Amapá and Pará, in the Amazon region ( Figure 1 ) [ 13 , 37 , 39 ]. All subjects were community-recruited by the snowball technique [ 45 ].…”

“…The transmission of these two viruses is also common due to inadequate screening before surgical procedures and blood transfusion in endemic areas [ 2 , 4 , 27 , 35 ]. People who use illicit drugs (PWUDs) are an important group vulnerable to viral infections as a result of socioeconomic factors and risky behaviors that facilitate viral acquisition and transmission, such as sharing instruments for drug use, long time and high frequency of drug use, the type of illicit drug used, unprotected sex, multiple sexual partners, and exchange of sex for money/drugs [ 13 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. In the Amazon region, high rates of exposure to HBV (22.7%–36.7%) and genotypes A, D, and F were identified using real-time PCR in studies conducted with PWUDs [ 13 , 37 , 39 ].…”

“…To date, the presence of HDV in PWUDs has not yet been reported. In addition, the presence of occult HBV infection (OBI) has been recorded in the Amazon region, including in PWUDs [ 13 , 37 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. OBI is defined as HBsAg-negative and anti-HBc positive/negative with HBV DNA detectable in serum and liver tissue.…”

Hepatitis E Virus in People Who Use Crack-Cocaine: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Remote Region of Northern Brazil

“…Northern Brazil, which includes the tropical Amazon region, is a rural and socioeconomically underdeveloped region of Brazil, with high levels of poverty, limited transportation infrastructure, inadequate healthcare services, and high rates of PWUCC [ 27 ]. In this Brazilian region, several viruses have been detected in PWUCC, and the presence of HEV was detected in pigs and humans in rural communities [ 12 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. In the present study, the prevalences of laboratory markers and HEV genotypes were determined in a sample of PWUCC from a remote area of the Amazon region in northern Brazil, as well as the factors associated with exposure to HEV.…”