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Evidence of hepatitis E virus infections among persons who use crack cocaine from the Midwest region of Brazil
Author(s) -
Castro Vivianne O. L.,
TejadaStrop Alexandra,
Weis Sabrina M. S.,
Stábile Andrea C.,
Oliveira Sandra M. V. L.,
Teles Sheila A.,
Kamili Saleem,
MottaCastro Ana Rita C.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.25288
Subject(s) - hepatitis e virus , seroprevalence , virology , antibody , hepatitis e , medicine , virus , immunology , immunoglobulin m , immunoglobulin g , biology , serology , genotype , biochemistry , gene
The current study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection among persons who use crack from Midwest region of Brazil. Sera samples from 698 users of crack, collected from November 2013 to July 2015 were tested for anti‐HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) markers. Of the 698 serum samples, 99 (14.2%) were positive for anti‐HEV IgG. Two samples were positive for anti‐HEV IgM but both were negative for HEV RNA. The variables independently associated with anti‐HEV positivity were increasing age and absence of stable partnership. This study showed high prevalence of past hepatitis E virus infection among persons who use crack.