Seroprevalence of hepatitis B, C and D markers in indigenous patients seen at the Native American Outpatient Clinic of Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo

Objective: To detect and treat cases of viral hepatitis B, C and D in patients seen at the Native American Outpatient Clinic of Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo. Methods: This sample comprised 81 indigenous recruited between 2018 and 2020. Volunteers were aged 7 months to 70 years (mean age of 28 +/- 20 years), belonged to 26 ethnic groups spanning the Brazilian territory and answered a questionnaire, which was attached to their medical records. Peripheral blood samples (20mL) were collected, transported to the Clinical Laboratory of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, processed, and tested for markers of viral hepatitis B, C and D. Results: In this study, 39 (48.1%) individuals were anti-HBs (+) only, 13 (16.0%) individuals were anti-HBs (+) and anti-HBc (+), and 28 (34.6%) individuals were negative for all markers. No anti-HBc IgM+ samples were found. No cases of hepatitis C and D were found. Conclusion: This analysis provided evidence of previous infection by the hepatitis B virus. These findings led to prescription of vaccination against hepatitis B to all participants who were negative for all viral hepatitis B markers, given records of prior hepatitis B vaccination were unreliable.

Automated summary

This study aimed to detect and treat cases of viral hepatitis B, C and D in Indigenous Brazilians. The results showed evidence of previous infection with hepatitis B virus among the participants, leading to vaccination against hepatitis B for those negative for all viral hepatitis B markers.