Serosurveillance for hantavirus in urban and rural workers in Pernambuco State, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of antibodies to hantavirus in professionals responsible for urban cleaning (trash collection, weeding and road-sweeping), collectors of recycled material and rural workers in the Municipality of Garanhuns in Pernambuco State, Brazil. Considering the scarcity of data about hantavirus in Pernambuco, a Descriptive, cross-sectional, epidemiological analysis was performed. In total, 156 samples were obtained from workers for an outsourcing company of urban cleaning, collectors of material for recycling and rural workers. The in-house ELISA method was used to detect IgG antibodies to the N protein of the Araraquara hantavirus. The prevalence of antibodies to hantavirus was 1.9% (3/156; C.I. 0.4% -5.5%). Upon completion of titration, two reagent samples were found with titers of 200 (66.7%) and 400 (33.3%). All of the seropositive individuals in the present study were males from urban areas. This was the first study conducted in the Municipality of Garanhuns to report the presence of IgG antibodies to hantavirus in human serum samples. This result identifies the need for special attention on behalf of the epidemiological surveillance authorities in investigations of the occurrence of this disease in non-endemic areas.