Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus Infection among Blood Donors in Bulgaria.

Magdalena Baymakova,Todor Kundurzhiev,Krasimira Terzieva,Rumen Popov,Roman Pepovich,Ilia Tsachev,Elisaveta Grancharova

doi:10.3390/v13030492

Abstract

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is widespread among domestic pigs, industrial swine, and wild boars in Bulgaria. The aim of the current research was to present the HEV seroprevalence among blood donors in Bulgaria. In the present study, 555 blood donors (479 males and 76 females) were enrolled from five districts in the country (Shumen, Pleven, Stara Zagora, Plovdiv, and Sofia districts). All blood samples were tested for anti-HEV IgG using the recomWell HEV IgG ELISA test (Mikrogen GmbH, Neuried, Germany). Each participating donor completed a short, structured, and specific questionnaire to document data on the current study. Anti-HEV IgG positive results were detected in 144 (25.9%) blood donors, including 129 (26.9%) males and 15 (19.7%) females. The established HEV seropositivity was 28.8% (23/80) in Shumen district, 23.2% (22/95) in Pleven district, 27.1% (38/140) in Stara Zagora district, 27.5% (44/160) in Plovdiv district, and 21.3% (17/80) in Sofia district. A high HEV seroprevalence was found for persons who declared that they were general hunters (48.7%; 19/39; p = 0.001) and hunters of wild boars (51.6%; 16/31; p = 0.001). We present the first seroprevalence rates of HEV infection in blood donors from Bulgaria. The results of our research showed high HEV seropositivity among blood donors.

Highlights

The male sex dominated among analyzed blood donors
We found that the odds of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection were 1.018 times higher in Southern Bulgaria than in Northern Bulgaria
The data from our study showed a high HEV seropositivity among blood donors from Bulgaria

Summary

Introduction

The Hepeviridae family includes enterically-transmitted, small, non-enveloped positivesense RNA viruses [1,2,3,4]. Members of this family are assigned to two genera: Piscihepevirus and Orthohepevirus [1,4]. The Piscihepevirus genus includes a single species whose typical isolate, prototype strain is cutthroat trout virus, which infects trout Oncorhynchus clarkii [5], its pathogenicity and full host range are unknown [1]. The genus Orthohepevirus contains several viruses that infect a wide range of organisms, for example, humans, domestic pigs, wild boars, deer, sheep, rabbits, camels, and mongooses

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion