Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua

PeerJ

article

Sophie Jaisli¹  Orlando Mayorga²  Nadia Flores²  Sandra de Berti³  Gustav Frösner⁴  Christian Herzog¹  Marcel Zwahlen¹  Sereina A. Herzog⁷ 

[1] Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern;Department of Microbiology & Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University;Casa B5;Institute of Virology, Technical University;Medical Department, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute;University of Basel;Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling of Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp;Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz

关键词: Hepatitis A;    Clinical features;    Serology;    Epidemiology;    Risk factors;    Seasonality;    Central America;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.11516

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Background and ObjectivesTo monitor and document the endemicity and disease burden of acute hepatitis A in the area of an ongoing vaccine effectiveness study in León, Nicaragua.MethodsAt community health centres in León, all children, adolescents and young adults presenting with jaundice and/or other clinical signs of hepatitis were offered free serologic screening (hepatitis A, B and C) and blood tests for liver enzymes and bilirubin. Clinical and socioeconomic data were collected with a structured questionnaire. Diagnosis of acute hepatitis A was confirmed by anti-HAV IgM testing. Using logistic regression we compared the characteristics and living conditions of acute hepatitis A cases with those of non-cases.Results18 years of age. No severe cases were encountered. Apart from jaundice (95.6%) and other signs of hepatitis A (fever, pale stool, dark urine, nausea, vomiting, anorexia), two thirds of patients had moderately raised liver enzymes. Cases occurred throughout the year, with highest incidences from August to March. Poor sanitary conditions and crowding were the main risk factors.ConclusionsIn the study area, hepatitis A is still highly endemic in young and school age children living in low socioeconomic conditions. There are, however, first indications that the endemicity level is shifting from high to high-intermediate.

【 授权许可】

CC BY