Article
Age-specific Prevalence of Antibodies to Hepatitis A in Children and Adolescents from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1978 and 1995. Relationship of Prevalence to Environmental Factors
Registro en:
VITRAL, Claudia L. et al. Age-specific Prevalence of Antibodies to Hepatitis A in Children and Adolescents from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1978 and 1995. Relationship of Prevalence to Environmental Factors. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, v. 93, n. 1, p.1-5, Jan./Feb. 1998.
0074-0276
10.1590/S0074-02761998000100001
1678-8060
Autor
Vitral, Claudia L.
Yoshida, Clara F. T.
Lemos, Elba Regina S.
Teixeira, Christiane S.
Gaspar, Ana M. C.
Resumen
The age-specific prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) was determined in two different population groups with low socio-economic status from Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, whose serum samples were collected 17 years apart (Population 1, 1978; Population 2, 1995). In Population
2, analysis of the anti-HAV prevalence was also carried out with respect to environmental factors. Population 1 was composed of 520 stored sera collected from the umbilical cord of term neonates and children aged 1 month to 6 years. In population 2, 720 serum samples were collected from children and adolescents with ages ranging from 1 to 23 years. The overall prevalence rate of anti-HAV in Population 1 and Population 2 was 65.6% and 32.1%, respectively. In Population 1, the anti-HAV prevalence
reached 88% at the age of 3, while in Population 2, it increased from 4.5% in children under the age of 3 to 66% in the group of adolescents over the age of 14. The low exposure to HAV infection in younger children from Population 2 could be a result of improved environmental hygiene and sanitation, as demonstrated by the presence of piped water, waste and sewage disposal systems in most houses from this population group. These findings indicate a possible change in the prevalence of hepatitis A in Rio
de Janeiro.