Abstract
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections occur chiefly as a result of unhygienic conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the seroprevalence of antibodies to both viruses in central Burkina Faso in the absence of a recorded hepatitis epidemic. Serum samples from 178 blood donors (131 males and 47 females) and from 189 pregnant women were collected from November 2010 to March 2012, at blood banks and medical centers in Burkina Faso. An immunochromatography test was used to screen for Anti-HAV IgM and IgG in a subgroup of 91 blood donors and 100 pregnant women. The seroprevalence of anti-HAV IgG was 14.3% [CI95, 7.1–21.4%] for all blood donors and 23% [CI95, 14.8–31.2%] for pregnant women. Anti-HEV IgG were detected using the ELISA kits Dia.pro and Wantai and were found in 19.1% [CI95, 13.3–24.9%] of the blood donors and 11.6% [CI95, 7.1–16.2%] of the pregnant women. The seroprevalences of anti-HAV and anti-HEV IgGs did not differ significantly between men and women blood donors. Anti-HAV IgM was detected in 3.3% of the blood donors and in 2% of the pregnant women. These findings for asymptomatic individuals indicate that the HAV and HEV circulate at low but significant levels. This is the first evaluation of the acute hepatitis virus burden in Burkina Faso and the underlying epidemiologic status of the population.
Highlights
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) are the leading causes of acute viral hepatitis in the world
Ethics statement This study was carried out according to the routine practices of the Regional Blood Transfusion Center of Ouagadougou (RBTCO) and the Medical Center Surgical unit of Samadin (MCS), and was approved by the Ethics Committee for Health Research (ECHR): ‘‘Comitenational d’ethique pour la recherche en sante (CNERS)
The seroprevalence of anti-HEV was slightly higher among pregnant women (23%, CI95 [14–31%]) than blood donors
Summary
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) are the leading causes of acute viral hepatitis in the world. In developing countries, these infections are associated with poor hygiene and, in particular, the lack of clean drinking water and, in some areas, inadequate sanitation [1,2,3]. It is estimated that 1.5 million new HAV infections occur each year and that one-third of the world’s population is infected with HEV [4] These viruses spread by the fecal-oral route usually through contact between people [5] or by ingestion of contaminated food or water [6]. In infected individuals aged 40 years or more, the mortality rate exceeds 2% [12]
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