The authors estimated risk areas for hepatitis A in four census tracts from Duque de Caxias, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The area was part of the environmental project for the clearing of the Guanabara Bay. This study was based on a seroprevalence inquiry for hepatitis A in children living in the area. The population studied comprised 454 children between 1 and 9 years of age, selected through simple random sampling in each age group. After parental informed consent, blood samples were collected for the detection of total antibodies for hepatitis A, using the ELISA method. Information about housing, sanitary and socioeconomic conditions were obtained after a domiciliary inquiry. The use of geostatistics made it possible to establish risk areas for hepatitis A in a more accurate way, given the areas were not restricted to the boundaries of the census tracts.
Hepatitis A; Environmental Health; Poverty Areas; Descriptive Epidemiology
