Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical ()

Hepatitis E virus infection among rural Afro-descendant communities from the eastern Brazilian Amazon

  • Alex Junior Souza de Souza,
  • Candida Maria Abrahão de Oliveira,
  • Vânia Pinto Sarmento,
  • André Antonio Corrêa das Chagas,
  • Nayara Silva Nonato,
  • Dickson Ciro Nascimento de Brito,
  • Kemere Marques Vieira Barbosa,
  • Manoel do Carmo Pereira Soares,
  • Heloisa Marceliano Nunes

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0394-2017
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 51, no. 6
pp. 803 – 807

Abstract

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Abstract INTRODUCTION The prevalence, public health impact, and epidemiological characteristics of hepatitis E virus (HEV) are poorly understood in Brazil. METHODS Serum samples from 535 individuals from three rural Afro-descendant communities located in eastern Brazilian Amazon were collected in October 2015 and tested for presence of anti-HEV IgM and IgG antibodies. Serologically positive samples were also tested for HEV-RNA. RESULTS Two cases were confirmed for anti-HEV IgM (0.3 %) and two cases for anti-HEV IgG (0.3 %). No sample was positive for HEV-RNA. CONCLUSIONS Results indicated low prevalence of HEV infection in Afro-descendant rural communities from the eastern Brazilian Amazon.

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