Epidemiological profile of viral hepatitis in the state of maranhão between 2008 and 2017
International Journal of Development Research
Epidemiological profile of viral hepatitis in the state of maranhão between 2008 and 2017
Received 20th June, 2019; Received in revised form 13th July, 2019; Accepted 17th August, 2019; Published online 30th September, 2019.
Copyright © 2019, Aline Brito Damasceno et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Introduction: Hepatitis is an important public health problem in Brazil, with different regional distributions. Objective: This study analyzed the epidemiological profile of viral hepatitis in the State of Maranhão between 2008 and 2017. Method: An observational, quantitative, longitudinal and retrospective study of the cases reported in SINAN was performed. 6,876 confirmed cases were registered, predominantly in the urban area and in the capital city of São Luís. Results and Discussion: Hepatitis A was the most prevalent during this period, frequent in children from 5 to 9 years, especially in the acute form and by means of contaminated food and water. As of 2014, the number of cases of hepatitis A sharply decreased, with hepatitis B and C predominating in the following years in individuals aged 20 to 59 years, most of whom contracted the virus sexually. Concerning the level of education, 32.15% of the cases refer to individuals with incomplete primary education. A total of 695 cases of hepatitis were reported in pregnant women, which ispertinent, since there is a possibility of vertical transmission.
