Prevalence of viral hepatitis B and C in riverside communities of the Tucuruí Dam, Pará, Brazil

Epidemiologically, the relevance of infection caused by hepatitis viruses is related mainly to their wide geographic distribution and the large number of infected individuals in all parts of the world. In this study, 668 residents from the islands around the Tucuruí Dam were selected. Blood samples were collected for investigation of serological markers (HBsAg, total anti‐HBc, anti‐HBS, and anti‐HCV) by enzyme immunoassays. HCV‐positive subjects were tested using RT‐PCR and RFLP for the identification of viral genotypes. Among the 668 subjects studied, 1.9% were HBsAg positive, 28% were total anti‐HBc positive, and 41.9% were anti‐HBs positive. The anti‐HBs marker alone (vaccine response) was detected in 25.7% of the volunteers. Anti‐HCV antibody was detected in 2.2% of the subjects and genotype 1 was the predominant genotype (70%). The results indicate an intermediate level of HBV and HCV endemicity in the region studied, as well as low HBV vaccination coverage. J. Med. Virol. 84:1907–1912, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.