Decline in hepatitis B and C prevalence among hemodialysis patients in Tocantins, Northern Brazil

ABSTRACT Infection control measures have been responsible for a decline in the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in hemodialysis patients. In Brazil, these measures have been in place since 1996. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current HBV and HCV...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
Main Authors: Valéria Maciel Cordeiro, Bruno César Teodoro Martins, Sheila Araujo Teles, Regina Maria Bringel Martins, Karla Prado de Souza Cruvinel, Márcia Alves Dias de Matos, Jonio Arruda Luz, Regiane Aparecida dos Santos Soares Barreto, Juliana Araujo Teles, Nathália Carneiro Santos, Karlla Antonieta Amorim Caetano, Megmar Aparecida dos Santos Carneiro
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2018
Subjects:
Epidemiology Viral hepatitis
Dialysis
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Hemodialysis
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Infectious and parasitic diseases
RC109-216
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-9946201860036
https://doaj.org/article/77fee374017e486fbb6a5c3336d18057
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Summary:ABSTRACT Infection control measures have been responsible for a decline in the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in hemodialysis patients. In Brazil, these measures have been in place since 1996. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current HBV and HCV epidemiology among hemodialysis patients in the State of Tocantins comparing them with those found 14 years ago. There was a significant decline in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV prevalence from 4% and 13% in 2001 to 0.8% and 2.8% in 2014-2015, respectively (p < 0.05). Variables related to hemodialysis environment such as working shift and length of time on hemodialysis treatment were no longer associated to HCV and HBV exposure in 2014-2015. A high prevalence of self-reported hepatitis B vaccination was observed in both periods, but only 30% of the individuals showed serological profile of effective previous immunization, suggesting a low compliance with surveillance of hepatitis B immunization in hemodialysis centers. The significant decline in viral hepatitis B and C prevalence in hemodialysis patients in Tocantins underscores the importance of infection control measures, but the low frequency of protective serological profile after immunization against hepatitis B points to the need for greater vigilance of the patients’ vaccination.

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