Hepatitis E antibodies in Egyptian adolescent females: their prevalence and possible relevance
| Autor: | A F, Amer, S A, Zaki, A M, Nagati, M A, Darwish |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1996 |
| Předmět: |
Analysis of Variance
Chi-Square Distribution Adolescent Endemic Diseases Marital Status Urban Health Jaundice Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Hospitals Maternity Suburban Health Hepatitis E Hospitals University Pregnancy Risk Factors Seroepidemiologic Studies Population Surveillance Surveys and Questionnaires Hepatitis E virus Educational Status Humans Egypt Female Hepatitis Antibodies Pregnancy Complications Infectious |
| Zdroj: | The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association. 71(3-4) |
| ISSN: | 0013-2446 |
| Popis: | Hepatitis E virus has been implicated as a frequent cause of acute sporadic hepatitis among Egyptian children. Moreover, an extraordinarily high seroprevalence rate was previously reported in a semiurban Nile Delta population. A conspicuous feature of hepatitis E is the high morbidity and mortality it can cause among infected pregnant women. We therefore evaluated the prevalence of HEV antibodies in adolescent females using a solid-phase enzyme linked immunoassay based on two recombinant hepatitis E virus antigens. A high prevalence rate (38.9%) was found in 95 apparently healthy adolescent females. The mean age of the study subjects was 21.81 +/- 2.5 (SD) range 16-25 years. Eighty (84.2%) subjects resided in Alexandria, while 15 (15.8%) came from semiurban villages of Alexandria Governorate. An increased prevalence was noted with age, as anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 32.1% and 41.8% of study participants in the second and third decades of life, respectively. Similarly, those illiterate or having received less than primary education exhibited a higher HEV prevalence than those with higher education (46.3% vs 29.3%). The majority of subjects having serological evidence of HEV infection denied previous history of jaundice which shows that HEV infection was subclinical in those cases. Ten (55.6%) pregnant females participating in the study, as well as 48 (62.3%) non pregnant females lacked serological evidence of HEV infection; i.e., 60.01% (10 + 48 out of 95) of women in the childbearing age may be susceptible to infection. This report suggests that HEV is endemic in Alexandria, Egypt; the epidemiologic risk factors associated with HEV infection need further exploration. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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