High prevalence of hepatitis C in the district of Botafogo, municipality of Bebedouro, São Paulo State, Brazil, 2007

This article aimed to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis C in Botafogo, a district of Bebedouro, São Paulo State, Brazil, and investigate possible risk factors. One individual over 18 years of age was selected from each household to answer a questionnaire on socio-demographic variables and factors...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inCadernos de saúde pública Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 460 - 464
Main Authors Ferrão, Sabrina de Brito Ramalho Luz, Figueiredo, José Fernando de Castro, Yoshida, Clara Fumiko Tachibana, Passos, Afonso Dinis Costa
Format Journal Article
LanguagePortuguese
Published Brazil 01.02.2009
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Brazil - epidemiology
Female
Hepacivirus - immunology
Hepatitis C - diagnosis
Hepatitis C - epidemiology
Hepatitis C Antibodies - blood
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Young Adult
Brazil
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This article aimed to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis C in Botafogo, a district of Bebedouro, São Paulo State, Brazil, and investigate possible risk factors. One individual over 18 years of age was selected from each household to answer a questionnaire on socio-demographic variables and factors associated with hepatitis C. Blood samples were also drawn for immunoenzymatic tests. Positive HCV-antibody samples were submitted to viral RNA detection. HCV prevalence was 8.8% (95%CI: 5.8-11.7), and independent variables associated with risk of infection were: male gender, time of local residence > 30 years, and history of injected medication using non-disposable material, sterilized by boiling. The high prevalence of hepatitis C infection in this relatively isolated rural population appears to result from previous exposure to injections with inadequately sterilized material, with some evidence suggesting a specific elderly pharmacy employee who customarily applied such injections and may have been a chronic HCV carrier.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:1678-4464