HEPATITIS B VIRUS INFECTION PROFILE IN CENTRAL BRAZILIAN HEMODIALYSIS POPULATION

• Main Authors: TELES Sheila A., MARTINS Regina M. B, SILVA Simonne A., GOMES Dinalva M. F., CARDOSO Divina D. P., VANDERBORGHT Bart O. M., YOSHIDA Clara F. T.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 1998
• Subjects: Hepatitis B; HBV-DNA; Risk factors; Hemodialysis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/26976853d17e4b03be68b7b75a09cf55

Hepatitis B has proved to be a major health hazard in hemodialysis patients. In order to investigate the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection profile in the hemodialysis population of Goiânia city - Central Brazil, all dialysis patients (N=282) were studied. The prevalence of any HBV marker (HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc) was 56.7% (95% CI: 51.1-62.7), ranging from 33.3% to 77.7% depending on dialysis unit. HBV-DNA was detected in 67.6% and 88.2% of the HBsAg-positive serum samples, in 91.3% and 100% of the HBsAg/HBeAg-positive samples, and in 18.2% and 63.6% of the HBsAg/anti-HBe-reactive sera by hybridization and PCR, respectively. The length of time on hemodialysis was significantly associated with HBV seropositivity. Only 10% of the patients reported received hepatitis B vaccination. The findings of a high HBV infection prevalence in this population and the increased risk for HBV infection on long-term hemodialysis suggest the environmental transmission, emphasizing the urgent need to evaluate strategies of control and prevention followed in these units.