Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua
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 o...
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PeerJ Inc.
2021-06-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/11516.pdf |
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| author | Sophie Jaisli Orlando Mayorga Nadia Flores Sandra de Berti Gustav Frösner Christian Herzog Marcel Zwahlen Sereina A. Herzog |
| author_facet | Sophie Jaisli Orlando Mayorga Nadia Flores Sandra de Berti Gustav Frösner Christian Herzog Marcel Zwahlen Sereina A. Herzog |
| author_sort | Sophie Jaisli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:30:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-763bcaf8a61e4f388917e4ec4d74222f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:30:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj.art-763bcaf8a61e4f388917e4ec4d74222f2023-12-03T11:07:40ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592021-06-019e1151610.7717/peerj.11516Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, NicaraguaSophie Jaisli0Orlando Mayorga1Nadia Flores2Sandra de Berti3Gustav Frösner4Christian Herzog5Marcel Zwahlen6Sereina A. Herzog7Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandDepartment of Microbiology & Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University, León, NicaraguaDepartment of Microbiology & Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National Autonomous University, León, NicaraguaCasa B5, Lomas de Monserrat, Managua, NicaraguaInstitute of Virology, Technical University, Munich, GermanyInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, SwitzerlandCentre for Health Economics Research and Modelling of Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, BelgiumBackground 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.https://peerj.com/articles/11516.pdfHepatitis AClinical featuresSerologyEpidemiologyRisk factorsSeasonality |
| spellingShingle | Sophie Jaisli Orlando Mayorga Nadia Flores Sandra de Berti Gustav Frösner Christian Herzog Marcel Zwahlen Sereina A. Herzog Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua PeerJ Hepatitis A Clinical features Serology Epidemiology Risk factors Seasonality |
| title | Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua |
| title_full | Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua |
| title_fullStr | Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua |
| title_short | Clinical, serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis A in León, Nicaragua |
| title_sort | clinical serological and epidemiological features of hepatitis a in leon nicaragua |
| topic | Hepatitis A Clinical features Serology Epidemiology Risk factors Seasonality |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/11516.pdf |
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