Abstract
Although hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection has been widely understood as a public health concern in pregnant females, it is sometimes overlooked because of unusual observations of hepatitis E-induced complications during pregnancy. The objective of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to find out how frequent Hepatitis E virus infection is in pregnant women in Sudan. Blood samples were collected from pregnant women (n = 90) attending Khartoum North Hospital from February to December 2019. The specimens were investigated for Hepatitis E virus IgG and IgM antibodies using the commercial kits based on the enzyme immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Out of ninety pregnant women, 36 (40%) were found positive for IgG antibodies, and 5 (6%) were tested positive for IgM antibodies. In addition, 13 (14.5%) of the positive cases are women in their third trimester. These data showed a significant association between previous Hepatitis E virus infection and miscarriage (p <0.001). This study did not find a significant association between maternal and gestation age, education, water sources, and hepatitis E virus infection. In conclusion, there was a high percentage of HEV infections among pregnant women attending Khartoum North Hospital. This study estimates the Hepatitis E virus burden in Khartoum state, but more extensive studies are required to confirm the burden in Sudan.
Highlights
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a common viral agent that causes acute viral hepatitis across the globe
The specimens were investigated for Hepatitis E virus IgG and IgM antibodies using the commercial kits based on the enzyme immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique
Hepatitis E virus infection was once thought to be a disease of resource-poor locations, with faecal-oral transmission primarily via contaminated water supplies and just a few cases linked to travel to endemic areas in high-resource countries
Summary
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a common viral agent that causes acute viral hepatitis across the globe. The most common cause of acute hepatitis and jaundice in the world is most likely HEV infection.[7,8,9] Hepatitis E virus infection was once thought to be a disease of resource-poor locations, with faecal-oral transmission primarily via contaminated water supplies and just a few cases linked to travel to endemic areas in high-resource countries. According to data collected over the last nearly 15 years, locally acquired HEV infections are common in developed countries. These genotype 3 or 4 HEV autochthonous infections were initially thought to be zoonotic, linked to raw meat consumption or animal contact. HEV viraemia among healthy blood donors in numerous countries supports the possibility of blood-borne transmission.[10,11,12,13,14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call