Prevalence of serological markers of hepatitis B virus in pregnant women from Parana State, Brazil

The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Brazil increases from South to North but moderate to elevated prevalence has been detected in the Southwest of Parana State. The prevalence of serological markers of HBV was evaluated in 3188 pregnant women from different counties in Parana State and relevant epidemiological features were described. The prevalence of HBV markers in pregnant women for the state as a whole was 18.5% (95% CI = 17.2-19.9), ranging from 7.2% in Curitiba to 38.5% in Francisco Beltrao. The endemicity of HBV marker prevalence in pregnant women was intermediate in Cascavel, Foz do Iguacu, and Francisco Beltrao, and low in Curitiba, Londrina, Maringa, and Paranagua. Multiple logistic regression showed that HBV marker prevalence increased with age, was higher among black women, among women of Italian and German descent, and among women who had family members in neighboring Rio Grande do Sul State. Univariate analysis showed that HBV marker prevalence was also higher among women with no education or only primary education, with a lower family income and whose families originated from the South Region of Brazil. Pregnant women not having positive HBV markers (anti-HBc, HBsAg or anti-HBs detected by ELISA) corresponded to 73.7% of the population studied, implying that HBV vaccination needs to be reinforced in Parana State. The highest prevalence was found in three counties that received the largest number of families from Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, where most immigrants were of German or Italian ascendance. This finding probably indicates that immigrants that came to this area brought HBV infection to Southwestern Parana State.