[Anti-Hantavirus antibodies in school children in Salvador, Bahia]

Hantavirosis are emerging diseases in the Americas. Although considered rare in children, among the five cases diagnosed in Brazil, one was in this age group. To know the serum-prevalence of hantavirosis in the pediatric group (schoolchildren) of low social economic level in Salvador, Bahia State, and to associate demographic, socio-economic and environmental factors to the serologic results, a standard questionnaire was applied and blood samples were collected from 379 students of two public schools. Sera were tested by indirect Immunofluorescent Antibody (IFA) IgG for Hantaan Virus (HTN) and Immunoenzymatic test (ELISA) for Sin Nombre viruses. Ages varied from five to seventeen years with a mean age of 10.2 years. The proportion of sera positive to HTN virus was 13.2%, and there were no positive antibodies to SN virus. The frequency of positivity was higher in the older group, similar among sexes and racial groups, and there was no association with the exposure to urban rodents. The antibodies anti-HTN serum-prevalence in low social economic level school children is high and confirm the circulation of hantaviruses in Salvador-Bahia, Brazil; the nonobservation of antibodies anti-SN indicates that the species are other than Sin Nombre Virus.