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[Seroepidemiologic study of hepatitis A virus among children of Maracaibo, Venezuela]
A Amesty-Valbuena1, Y González-Pirela, M Rivero
1Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela.
Insights
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is common in Maracaibo children, with 46.4% showing antibodies. Seropositivity increases with age, particularly in lower socioeconomic groups, indicating higher Hepatitis A virus exposure risks.
Area of Science:
- * Virology
- * Immunology
- * Epidemiology
Context:
- * Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection poses a significant public health concern globally.
- * Understanding HAV epidemiology in pediatric populations is crucial for targeted prevention strategies.
- * Socioeconomic factors can influence infectious disease prevalence and transmission dynamics.
Purpose:
- * To determine the incidence of Hepatitis A virus infection in children aged 6 months to 12 years in Maracaibo.
- * To assess the prevalence of anti-HAV antibodies (indicating past infection) and anti-HAV IgM antibodies (indicating recent infection).
- * To investigate the relationship between age, socioeconomic status, and Hepatitis A virus seropositivity.
Summary:
- * A study of 209 children in Maracaibo revealed a 46.4% overall seropositivity for Hepatitis A virus antibodies.
- * Seropositivity increased with age, from 31% in children under one year to 50-76.4% in those aged 9-11 years.
- * Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds exhibited higher seropositivity rates. Recent infections were detected after age two, with no cases in infants under one year, suggesting transplacental antibody protection.
Impact:
- * Findings highlight the substantial burden of Hepatitis A virus infection in the pediatric population of Maracaibo.
- * The study underscores the role of socioeconomic status in shaping Hepatitis A virus exposure and infection risk.
- * Results provide valuable data for public health interventions and vaccination campaigns targeting children in the region.
Abstract:
With the purpose of determining the incidence of Hepatitis A virus infection, we determined the presence of antibodies against this virus (anti-VHA) with the ELISA technique in 209 children from Maracaibo city of different socioeconomic levels, ages ranging from 6 months to 12 years. At the same time, we investigated the incidence of a recent infection through IgM antibodies for Hepatitis A (anti-VHA IgM) using the same ELISA technique. We found a global positive incidence of 46.4% for all ages. Individual ages studied showed 31% seropositivity in children less than one year old and a higher seropositivity in children between 9 and 11 years old (50-76.4%). There were noticeable differences in seropositivity in relation to social economic condition observing a higher percentage in children of low social economic level. A recent infection was demonstrated after the second year of life (60%) and a variable percentage through all pediatric ages studied. There was no recent infection detected in children under one year of age which suggests that antibodies anti-VHA obtained transplacentally can last at least for the first year of life as it does with other virus.