Soroprevalência de infecções pelos vírus da hepatite B e C em gestantes atendidas em unidades básicas de saúde em Macapá, Amapá, Brasil

Abstract

Hepatitis is the most common cause for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCB) infections are the most important as public health issue because of the high number of individuals affected (about 350 millions with chronic hepatitis type B and 170 millions with C type). In Brazil, evaluations done along the last decades have displayed that endemic level of B and C hepatitis in Amazon region have not decreased, besides there is the precarious access to health assistance at this place, specially the access to lab tests for pregnant women that could assure a healthier pregnancy period, avoiding the incidence of vertical transmission of these infections in Amazon region. This research is a quantitative, descriptive study whose technical procedures were field research, transversal cut of prevalence and has the objective of evaluate the seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C among 788 pregnant women who searched the Health Basic Unit of Congós, Macapá - Amapá to carry out the prenatal or the ones whose samples were from others Units in Macapá city that had lab tests in the Unit of the study. Among the sample analyzed 10 of them were reactive for HBsAg and anti HCV markers, indicating the presence of active infection of B and C hepatitis. From the samples considered reactive seven were positive for HBsAg marker and three for anti HCV marker. The most affected age group was between 25 to 29 years old and from Lélio Silva Health Unit, a district in Macapá that has a high population number. The study found that pregnant women in the fourth and sixth pregnancy period, married were the most affected ones. These data are important to approach the surveibllance institutions to the epidemiological profile of infected people, besides they make possible to establish measures of education and prevention that will contribute to reduce vertical transmission of the disease in Macapá. Taking into consideration these results, it is concluded the necessity of measures from government to fight the viral hepatitis in this region