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

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: 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
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Hepatitis E; Quilombola; Zoonosis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0394-2017; https://doaj.org/article/7ae423f0dfd244a699f642dfc386b634

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.