Hepatitis B among female sex workers in Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo, Brazil

Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia

Passos, Afonso Dinis Costa²  Villanova, Márcia Guimarães²  Martinelli, Ana de Lourdes Candolo²  Gaspar, Ana Maria Coimbra¹  Yoshida, Clara Fumiko Tachibana¹  Figueiredo, José Fernando de Castro²  Nascimento, Margarida Pásseri do² 

[1] Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

关键词: Hepatitis B;    Prevalence;    Sex workers;    Prostitutes;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1415-790X2007000400010

学科分类：过敏症与临床免疫学

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

OBJECTIVE: Toestimate the prevalence of hepatitis B markers and to study the risk factorsfor this disease among female sex workers in the city of Ribeirão Preto,Brazil.
METHODS: A questionnaire was given to 449 female sex workers in orderto obtain information about demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral variables.Blood samples were collected and analyzed by immunoenzymatic techniques fordetection of HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc and anti-HCV markers.
RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 23 years, varying from 13 to64 years. A high spatial mobility was observed, with 47.9% of participants residingin places out of the region of Ribeirão Preto or in other Brazilian states.Complete absence of previous vaccine against hepatitis B was referred by 98.2%.Overall, the presence of any hepatitis B marker was observed in 106 participants(prevalence of 23.6%; 95% CI: 19.7 27.5), with 84 positive for anti-HBs (18.7%),100 for anti-HBc (22.3%), and only 3 for HBsAg (0.7%). The logistic regressionanalysis showed association between hepatitis B markers and the following co-variables:residence in Ribeirão Preto, age, low socioeconomic level, consumptionof crack, intercourse with HIV-infected individuals, history of previoushepatitis, intercourse with a case of hepatitis, and positivity for hepatitisC.
CONCLUSIONS: Ribeirão Preto's female sex workers present severalrisk factors for hepatitis B and almost absence of previous specific vaccination,making it necessary to emphasize this low-cost preventive measure, preferablythrough the use of a mobile team, taking the vaccine to their places of work.

【 授权许可】

CC BY