Prevalence of Immunoglobulin G against Hepatitis A Virus and Hepatitis E Virus in healthcare personnel

Introduction and Objectives

The hepatitis A and hepatitis E viruses are organisms that stand out for their high resistance to acid and alkaline media, as well as to freezing temperatures. Despite presenting an approximate mortality of 1% for both viruses, a seroprevalence of up to 81.3% has been reported in previous decades, so it is important to know the current epidemiological status of both diseases.

Materials and Patients

Cross-sectional, descriptive, prospective and observational study. Individuals over 18 years of age were recruited, who were studying or had the degree of gastroenterologists at the Hospital de Especialidades Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, in a period of time between June 01 and June 30, 2023. Blood samples were collected for detection of immunoglobulin G against hepatitis A and hepatitis E viruses and a demographic questionnaire was conducted to each of the participants.

Results

23 individuals were recruited, 60.9% men (n=14) and 39.1% women (n=9), with a median age of 29 years, 13.0% corresponding to individuals from Mexico City (n= 3) and 86.9% from other states of the Mexican Republic (n=20). A seroprevalence of 17.3% (n=4) and 4.3% (n=1) was reported for hepatitis A virus and hepatitis E virus, respectively.

Conclusions

There is a lower seroprevalence for hepatitis A and hepatitis E viruses than reported, so it is vitally important to take preventive measures in populations at risk of infection, such as health personnel.

Ethical statement

The protocol was registered and approved by the Ethics Committee. The identity of the patients is protected. Consentment was obtained.

Declaration of interests

None

Funding

None

Table 1. Number of physicians with antibodies against hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis E virus (E) or a negative test (-).