Jaisli, Sophie; Mayorga, Orlando; Flores, Nadia; de Berti, Sandra; Frösner, Gustav; Herzog, Christian; Zwahlen, Marcel; Herzog, Sereina A (2021). Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua. PeerJ, 9, e11516. PeerJ, Ltd 10.7717/peerj.11516
|
Text
Jaisli_PeerJ_2021.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY). Download (894kB) | Preview |
Background and Objectives
To monitor and document the endemicity and disease burden of acute hepatitis A in the area of an ongoing vaccine effectiveness study in León, Nicaragua.
Methods
At 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.
Results
Of 557 eligible subjects enrolled between May 2006 and March 2010, 315 (56.6%) were diagnosed with hepatitis A, 80.6% of them ≤10 years and five >18 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.
Conclusions
In 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.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
04 Faculty of Medicine > Pre-clinic Human Medicine > Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) |
UniBE Contributor: |
Zwahlen, Marcel |
Subjects: |
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 360 Social problems & social services |
ISSN: |
2167-8359 |
Publisher: |
PeerJ, Ltd |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Andrea Flükiger-Flückiger |
Date Deposited: |
27 Jul 2021 15:30 |
Last Modified: |
21 Jun 2023 16:10 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.7717/peerj.11516 |
PubMed ID: |
34221712 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Central America Clinical features Epidemiology Hepatitis A Risk factors Seasonality Serology |
BORIS DOI: |
10.48350/157537 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/157537 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Edit item |