Abstract

Hepatitis E is a hepatotropic virus transmitted through the fecal-oral route and is prevalent in developing countries where sanitation is still a public health issue. There is no epidemiological data about this virus in Nigerian children. All the existing studies are hospital based, with obvious limitations. This study was conducted to establish the seroprevalence and predictors of viral hepatitis E antibody in children in Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. This was a community-based, cross-sectional study. A multi-staged sampling technique was used to select ten communities from which 406 children were recruited. The study period was April to June 2012. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Blood samples were screened for anti-HEV IgG antibody using the enzyme-linked immunoassay technique. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors that independently predicted the occurrence of the anti-HEV IgG antibody. A p value of < 0.05 was considered significant. The seroprevalence rate of anti-HEV IgG antibody was 7.7% (95% CI = 5.1-10.3). The study population mainly (94.1%) comprised the lower social class. Levels of social amenities in these communities were generally poor, with virtually no piped water and modern sewage disposal systems. After multivariate analysis, the predictor of infection was the duration of residence in the study communities. HEV infection was prevalent in the study population. Educational campaigns and provision of good sewage disposal and piped water are of high necessity.

Highlights

  • Hepatitis E is a hepatotropic virus transmitted through the fecal-oral route and is prevalent in developing countries where sanitation is still a public health issue

  • Age was significantly associated with anti-Hepatitis E virus (HEV) IgG antibody positivity (p = 0.039)

  • There was no significant association with sex (p = 0.66)

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Summary

Introduction

Hepatitis E is a hepatotropic virus transmitted through the fecal-oral route and is prevalent in developing countries where sanitation is still a public health issue. This study was conducted to establish the seroprevalence and predictors of viral hepatitis E antibody in children in Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Conclusions: HEV infection was prevalent in the study population. HEV is noted to be responsible for epidemic and sporadic cases of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B viral hepatitis in many developing countries [3,4,5,6]. Areas with endemic infection and high incidence are found in Asia, Africa, Central America, and the Middle East [7], where the virus has been known to produce self-limiting acute viral hepatitis with mortality rates of 1%–3% [8]. Outbreaks of hepatitis E have been described in Chad and Cote d’Ivoire, and the virus was responsible for 66% of sporadic hepatitis cases in Chad, at least 22%

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