Recommendations for Hepatitis C screening based on risk factorsfor transmission proved to be ineffcient. Accordingly, the CDC recommended to screen all American individuals born between 1945-1965, based on data from population prevalence of infection. The effectiveness of implementing these recommendations in other contexts and/or populations can be estimated, in principle, knowing the age distribution of infected individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To investigate the detection of hepatitis A virus ribonucleic acid in patients with acute liver failure and to assess if the results have any clinical implications for the evolution of acute liver failure in children. Hepatitis A infection, a vaccine-preventable disease, is an important cause of acute liver failure in children in Argentina. Universal vaccination in 1-yr-old children was implemented in June 2005.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hepatitis A infection, a vaccine-preventable disease, is an important cause of fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) in children in Argentina. Universal vaccination in 1-year-old children was implemented in June 2005. The limited studies about the correlation between the characteristics of the hepatitis A virus (HAV) and FHF have been carried out in adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis A, a vaccine preventable disease, is now of transitional or intermediate endemicity in Argentina, as the epidemiologic pattern of the disease has shifted with improvements in living conditions in some parts of the country. Increase in the susceptibility of older children and adults has led to increasing disease incidence. Molecular epidemiology has played an important role in the understanding of HAV infection by identifying modes of spreading and by permitting the monitoring of changes in circulating virus brought about by prevention programs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Gastroenterol Latinoam
September 2006
Strains of hepatitis E virus (HEV) isolated from Argentinian patients with sporadic hepatitis, as well as from swine from Argentina, belong to genotype 3. HEV genotype 3 variants have been described associated with acute liver failure (ALF) in adults from Japan and the United Kingdom. In Argentina, 30% of ALF in adults and children are of unknown aetiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Gastroenterol Latinoam
December 2006
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is endemic in Argentina. Molecular tools have allowed HAV RNA detection to be extent to sera and feces from patients with different clinical backgrounds. We compare the sensitivity of the RT-PCR protocol we follow using primers targeting different genomic regions and VP3 C terminal was the most sensitive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Argentina, a country considered non-endemic for hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection, serologic evidence of HEV infection has been observed in different human population groups. In other countries, a high degree of genetic relatedness has been observed between human and swine HEV genotype 3 sequences, suggesting zoonosis as one probable route of infection. This is the first identification of swine HEV in South America.
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