Hepatitis type A and hemodialysis: a seroepidemiologic study in 15 U.S. centers.
Four hundred sixty patients and staff from 15 U.S. dialysis centers were surveyed by the immune adherence hemagglutination technique for antibody to hepatitis A antigen (anti-HA). The age-standardized anti-HA prevalence was 42.9% in patients and 42.1% in staff. These rates are almost identical to those of socioeconomically comparable urban volunteer blood donors never exposed to dialysis settings. There was no correlation between anti-HA prevalences and duration of dialysis treatment or employment. Among 100 patients and staff followed for 1 year 92% to 94% did not change their anti-HA status. The prevalence of anti-HA was identical in subjects with past histories of multiple blood transfusions or accidental inoculations with blood-contaminated instruments and in those without such histories. We conclude that hepatitis A virus rarely if every spreads by parenteral mechanisms, that there is no epidemiologic evidence confirming the existence of chronic hepatitis A viremic carrier states, and that hemodialysis does not play a significant role in the spread of type A hepatitis.[1]References
- Hepatitis type A and hemodialysis: a seroepidemiologic study in 15 U.S. centers. Szmuness, W., Dienstag, J.L., Purcell, R.H., Prince, A.M., Stevens, C.E., Levine, R.W. Ann. Intern. Med. (1977) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg
