Abstract
During 2011, 5 persons in the area of Lazio, Italy were infected with a monophyletic strain of hepatitis E virus that showed high sequence homology with isolates from swine in China. Detection of this genotype in Italy parallels findings in other countries in Europe, signaling the possible spread of strains new to Western countries.
Highlights
Hepatitis B and C viruses can cause chronic infections that remain silent for decades, placing infected persons at risk for premature death from liver cirrhosis or primary liver cancer in later life
As all five viruses differ in their global distribution and routes of transmission, tailored prevention strategies will be required
These services and programmes can provide good entry points for both infected and most-at-risk people, and coordination can promote synergies for prevention, therapy and laboratory work
Summary
Hepatitis B and C viruses can cause chronic infections that remain silent for decades, placing infected persons at risk for premature death from liver cirrhosis (scarring) or primary liver cancer in later life. People with chronic hepatitis C virus infection are at high risk for developing cirrhosis and liver cancer. As water and sanitation systems improve in developing countries, infections occur later in life, when the risk for severe disease from hepatitis A is greatest This shifting epidemiology is responsible for increased numbers of cases in some countries and the emergence of community-wide outbreaks of hepatitis A. Hepatitis B virus/HIV and hepatitis C virus/HIV coinfections are an increasing problem in countries with concentrated HIV epidemics and among injecting drug users For those coinfected persons who are being treated with antiviral medicines, underlying viral hepatitis is becoming a major cause of death
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