Artigo Acesso aberto Produção Nacional Revisado por pares

Seroprevalence and Spatial Distribution of Hepatitis C Virus in Bahia, Brazil

2021; American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Volume: 105; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4269/ajtmh.20-1615

ISSN

1476-1645

Autores

Felicidade Mota Pereira, Fred Luciano Neves Santos, Maria da Conceição Chagas de Almeida, Roberto Carreiro, Luciano Kalabric Silva, Bernardo Galvão–Castro, Maria Fernanda Rios Grassi,

Tópico(s)

HIV/AIDS drug development and treatment

Resumo

ABSTRACT. In Salvador, which is the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, it has been estimated that 1.5% of the general population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV); however, the circulation of HCV throughout the state remains unknown. The present retrospective study aimed to determine anti-HCV seroprevalence and describe the geographic distribution of hepatitis C in Bahia. Data from HCV serological tests submitted to the Bahia Central Laboratory of Public Health between 2004 and 2013 were analyzed. Serology for HCV was performed using the AxSYM anti-HCV enzymatic microparticle immunoassay and chemiluminescence immunoassay. A subgroup of samples with detectable HCV-RNA was genotyped using the linear array hepatitis C virus genotyping assay. A total of 247,837 samples were analyzed. The median age of the studied population was 31 years (interquartile range, 25–44 years), and the female:male ratio was 3.9:1. The global seroprevalence of HCV in Bahia was estimated to be 1.3% (3,230/247,837), corresponding to an infection rate of 21.2/100,000 inhabitants. The seroprevalence of HCV was higher among males and increased with age. The presence of anti-HCV antibodies was detected throughout all mesoregions of Bahia, and the municipality with the highest infection rate was Ipiaú (112.04 cases/100,000 inhabitants). Genotypes 1 and 3 were found to be the most prevalent, followed by genotypes 2, 4, and 5. Our results provide evidence of the widespread distribution of previous HCV infection throughout the state of Bahia.

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