SEROPREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS ANALYSIS OF HEPATITIS E VIRUS INFECTION IN HUMAN POPULATION FROM TANDIL, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

RIVERO, MARÍA ALEJANDRA; ARCE, LORENA; GUTIERREZ, SILIVNA ELENA; TISNÉS, ADELA; PASUCCI, JUAN ANTONIO; SANCHEZ, FLORENCIA; SILVA, JULIA ANALÍA; MATIAS BRANCHER, JULIA; HAURE, MACARENA; ESTEIN, SILVIA MARCELA; VIZOSO PINTO, MARIA GUADALUPE

Congreso; Reunión Anual de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2022

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a common causeof acute clinical hepatitis worldwide and an emerging disease in Argentina, primarily transmitted via the fecal-oral route due to contaminated water and food. It is also a zoonotic disease, being swine themain reservoir. Prevalence of HEV infection in humans in severalregions of Argentina remains unknown, mainly because of lack ofawareness and proper diagnosis.Objectives: i) to determine the prevalence of HEV infection in humans from Tandil, ii) to evaluate its association with demographicand socioeconomic variables, and iii) to describe and analyze spatial patterns related to the infection. Methods: Blood samples wereobtained from 969 individuals aged 1-80 years (median 44) by arandom spatial sampling method. Socioeconomic information (socioeconomic status, overcrowding, educational level, health insurance coverage, access to drinking water, and appropriate sewagedisposal) was obtained by a survey. The address of the participantswas georeferenced. Anti-HEV IgG was detected by a validated indirect in-house ELISA, developed in INSIBIO (CONICET-UNT). Associations between the variables and seropositivity were evaluatedby Chi square and Wilcoxon tests. Scanning for clusters with highrates of positivity was carried out using the Bernoulli model. Results: Anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 4.34% (IC 95% 3.23-6.01) of samples, more frequently in men (6%) than women (4%),although not statistically significant (p-value 0.0542). The medianage of seropositive individuals was higher than seronegative (52 vs42, p-value 0.0002). Socioeconomic variables were not associatedwith seropositivity. No significant cluster of positivity was detectedby the purely spatial analysis. Conclusions: HEV is prevalent in thepopulation under study. The importance of considering HEV infection in the differential diagnosis of hepatitis in inhabitants belongingto different socioeconomic groups is highlighted.