OBJECTIVE: Hepatitis E infection is one of the most frequent acute hepatitis in the world. Currently five human genotypes with different geographical distributions and distinct epidemiologic patterns are identified. In Slovakia, only rare cases of hepatitis E have been reported in recent years. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of anti-HEV total antibodies and the main risk factors for HEV in the general population in Eastern Slovakia. METHODS: Detection of anti-HEV total antibodies samples was done by a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. RESULTS: Of 175 hospitalized patients included in the study, 76 (43.5%) showed positivity for anti-HEV total antibodies. No statistically significant differences were found in anti-HEV positivity between men and women or in the groups of different living areas (town/village - urban/rural). CONCLUSION: Prevalence of anti-HEV total antibodies of hospitalised patients was high. The risk factor significantly associated with antibody positivity was eating raw meat. Other factors, such as sex, age, living area and contact with animals were not associated with antibody positivity.
- MeSH
- ELISA MeSH
- hepatitida - protilátky izolace a purifikace MeSH
- hepatitida E MeSH
- hospitalizace statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- rizikové faktory MeSH
- séroepidemiologické studie MeSH
- virus hepatitidy E imunologie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Slovenská republika MeSH
Úvod: Cieľom práce bolo vyhodnotiť epidemiologické aspekty u pacientov s hepatitídou C liečených na Klinike infektológie a cestovnej medicíny v Košiciach. Materiál a metodika: Retrospektívne sme analyzovali súbor 232 pacientov (132 mužov a 100 žien, priemerný vek 43,8 roka) dispenzarizovaných a liečených s diagnózou hepatitídy C v rokoch 2003 až 2007. Výsledky: Pravdepodobným zdrojom nákazy bola najčastejšie transfúzia krvi (u 31 % pacientov), intravenózne užívanie drog v 9 % a invazívne lekárske zákroky v 6 %. Tetováž a piercing predstavovali možnú cestu infekcie u 4 % infikovaných, ostatné rizikové faktory sa vyskytli zriedkavejšie. U 41 % pacientov sa nezistil žiadny rizikový faktor infekcie. Genotyp vírusu bol stanovený u 198 pacientov. Takmer 90 % vyšetrených malo genotyp 1, 6,6 % genotyp 3, 3 pacienti genotyp 2 a po jednom genotypy 4 a 6. V dvoch prípadoch sa vyskytli zmiešané infekcie genotypmi 1 a 3 resp. 1 a 4. Priemerná doba od prvého záznamu zvýšenej aktivity aminotransferáz cez stanovenie diagnózy až po začiatok liečby stanovená analýzou nášho súboru bola 6,3 roka. Záver: Najčastejší spôsob infekcie v našom súbore predstavovali transfúzie, intravenózne užívanie drog a chirurgické zákroky. Medzi genotypmi vírusu hepatitídy C výrazne prevláda genotyp 1. Do budúcnosti by bolo potrebné skrátiť dobu od zistenia poškodenia pečene do etiologickej diagnostiky hepatitídy C, ktorá je nateraz príliš dlhá.
Introduction: The study objective was to evaluate epidemiological aspects in patients with hepatitis C treated at the Clinic of Infectology and Travel Medicine in Košice. Material and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of 232 patients (132 males and 100 females, mean age 43.8 years) followed up and treated with the diagnosis of hepatitis C (HC) in 2003 through 2007. Results: The probable sources of infection were most often blood transfusion (in 31 % of patients), injecting drug use (9 %) and invasive medical procedures (6 %). Tattooing and piercing procedures were a potential route of infection in 4 % of HC cases, while other risk factors were less common. None of the HC risk factors was identified in 41 % of HC patients. HCV genotype was determined in 198 patients. HCV genotype 1 was detected in nearly 90 % of the tested HC patients, HCV genotype 3 in 36.6 %, HCV genotype 2 in 3 patients and HCV genotypes 4 and 6 in one patient each. Two HC cases were coinfections with HCV genotypes 1 and 3 or 1 and 4. The mean time interval from the first detection of elevated aminotransferase activity to the diagnosis and therapy institution was 6.3 years. Conclusion: The most common source of infection was blood transfusion, followed by injecting drug use and surgery. The prevailing HCV genotype is 1. In the future, it would be necessary to reduce the time interval from the detection of liver damage to the etiological diagnosis of HC, which has been too long.
