Prevalence of viral hepatitis B and C in riverside communities of the Tucuruí Dam, Pará, Brazil

Abstract

Epidemiologically, the relevance of infection caused by hepatitis viruses is related mainly to their wide geographic distribution and the large number of infected individuals in all parts of the world. In this study, 668 residents from the islands around the Tucuruí Dam were selected. Blood samples were collected for investigation of serological markers (HBsAg, total anti-HBc, anti-HBS, and anti-HCV) by enzyme immunoassays. HCV-positive subjects were tested using RT-PCR and RFLP for the identification of viral genotypes. Among the 668 subjects studied, 1.9% were HBsAg positive, 28% were total anti-HBc positive, and 41.9% were anti-HBs positive. The anti-HBs marker alone (vaccine response) was detected in 25.7% of the volunteers. Anti-HCV antibody was detected in 2.2% of the subjects and genotype 1 was the predominant genotype (70%). The results indicate an intermediate level of HBV and HCV endemicity in the region studied, as well as low HBV vaccination coverage.

Hepatitis C Virus among Female Sex Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study Conducted along Rivers and Highways in the Amazon Region

“…In the Amazon region, the estimated prevalence of HCV infection ranges from 1% to 3%, with higher rates being recorded in vulnerable groups, such as PWUDs (23.1%), patients undergoing hemodialysis (8.4%), and patients with hemophilia (48.4%) [5,[20][21][22][23][24]29,36,46]. The prevalence of HCV infection detected in this study was 10.7%, and most of these infections were classified as active (7.8%).…”

“…Furthermore, resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) located in NS3, such as V36L, V55A, Q80L, and R155K for subtype 1a, and T54S, V55A, R117H, and D168G for subtype 1b, have already been identified in HCV-infected Brazilians [19]. In the Amazon region (northern Brazil), several epidemiological studies indicate a high prevalence of HCV infections and the predominance of genotype 1 in different population groups, such as indigenous people, people living in riverside communities, blood donors, patients undergoing hemodialysis, patients with multiple blood transfusions, and PWUDs [5,18,[20][21][22][23][24][25]. Factors associated with parenteral and sexual exposure to HCV have been detected, including: Shared use of manicure and pedicure instruments, use of home-sterilized needles and syringes, unprotected sexual intercourse, more than 12 sexual partners, daily drug use, drug use for more than three years, and shared use of drug paraphernalia [5,[26][27][28][29].…”

Determination of hepatitis B, C and D prevalence among urban and Amerindian populations from the Eastern Brazilian Amazon: a cross sectional study

“…Overall an anti-HCV prevalence of 0.8% was observed in individuals from Tocantinópolis city, lower than that observed in studies of the general population from the Eastern Amazon Region (2.2 to 5.76%) [ 23 , 32 , 33 ] or hemodialysis individuals from Tocantins state (13%) [ 24 ]. However, anti-HCV prevalence was high in Amerindians (1.2%) compared to non-Amerindians (0.3%) in concordance with a previous study from the Northern region (1.4%) [ 14 ].…”

Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and genotypes in patient with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis

“…The prevalence of HCV of 2.2% in the general population of northern Brazil (Brazilian Amazon) is the highest among different Brazilian regions [Sawada et al, ; de Almeida et al, ]. The objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of HCV infection and genotypes and possible risk factors in patients treated by maintenance hemodialysis from Belém, capital of the State of Pará (Brazilian Amazon region).…”