Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a major public health problem in many developing countries and is also endemic in some industrialized countries. Hepatitis E is fecal-oral transmission, which favors the spread of infection in developing countries where contamination of water reservoirs keeps the chain of transmission of the disease. The riverside dwellers live in small communities mostly on the banks of rivers, streams, igapós and lakes. Poor sanitation and lack of access to safe drinking water in these communities often lead to enteric infections in early childhood, and poor schooling and poor access to health services can further expose this population to various diseases. This study aimed to determine the HEV seroprevalence in two riverside communities in the State of Pará, outlining the socio-epidemiological profile, comparing seroprevalence among communities and describing the main risk factors for the acquisition of viral infection. The study was developed in distinct riverside communities near the municipality of Belém: Furo do Maracujá Community, located in the municipality of Acará and Furo do Nazário, located in the municipality of Barcarena. A total of 414 samples were collected and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed for the detection of Anti-HEV antibodies. The prevalence of Anti HEV was 3% (13/414) in these populations. There was no association between the prevalence of hepatitis E markers with age, gender, schooling and family income, however, precarious basic sanitation in both communities favors the acquisition of HEV infection. The seroprevalence of hepatitis E in this study was similar to the rates found in other regions of Brazil. However, the distribution of infection may vary within the country and even within the regions themselves, depending on the risk factors to which the communities are exposed.
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