Seroprevalence Of Hepatitis E Virus Infection Research Articles

Seroprevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Hepatitis E Virus Infection Among Blood Donors in Tripoli, Libya

Hepatitis E (HE) is a transfusion-transmitted viral disease caused by the Hepatitis E virus (HEV). There are currently no national seroprevalence reports for Libyan blood donors. This study therefore aimed to evaluate HEV risk to blood safety by assessing the prevalence of anti-HEV IgG and anti-HEV IgM among Libyan healthy blood donors. A total of 267 serum samples were collected from blood donors. Using a questionnaire form, the risk factors for HEV infection of all blood donors were gathered. The sera of the blood donors were screened for anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG using ELISA kits (DIA. PRO Srl, Milan, Italy). The statistical significance of the association between dependent and independent variables was evaluated using the chi-square test. A P-value < 0.05 was considered an indicator of statistical significance. The overall seroprevalence of HEV infection was 5.24% (14/267). Of the 267 blood donors, 12 (4.49%) tested positive for anti-HEV IgG antibodies. In contrast, 2 (0.74%) tested positive for anti-HEV antibodies (IgM and IgG). Our seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG was significantly associated with increased age, marital status, the technique of washing hands before eating, and smoking habit, and it was significantly low in blood donors who eat in cafes and restaurants. The overall seroprevalence of HEV infection was low in Libya. HEV is not currently prevalent among blood donors in Tripoli, Libya and poses little threat to the national blood supply. Therefore, current blood donor screening protocols are sufficient.

Seroprevalence of hepatitis-E virus infection among pregnant women at a secondary healthcare facility in Abeokuta, Southwest, Nigeria

Seroprevalence of hepatitis-E virus infection among pregnant women at a secondary healthcare facility in Abeokuta, Southwest, Nigeria

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Antibodies in Asymptomatic Antenatal Women from Tertiary Care Centre, Puducherry

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common cause of AVH in developing countries. HEV causes a self-limiting infection that is transmitted mainly through the consumption of contaminated food and water. Our study aimed to find out the seroprevalence of HEV infection. Detected both IgG & IgM antibodies from 100 asymptomatic antenatal women. ELISA (DIA PRO, Italy) was used to detect antibodies. Seropositivity was found in 9% of pregnant women, all might have been exposed to HEV infection previously. It could be unnoticed due to its self-limiting nature. IgG was 5% and IgM was 6%. Both IgM & IgG were detected in two pregnant women. Untreated water was used by the majority of women irrespective of their educational status. Though it is a self-limiting disease, it is necessary to screen for its antibody. Awareness about the modes of transmission & complications needs to be addressed in the community. It is necessary to do further studies for screening for HEV infection as there is a very limited number of studies published from South India.

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus Infection in Middle Eastern Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a hepatotropic virus that is a major public health concern worldwide. Autochthonous HEV is spread through oral feces in unsanitary environments, as well as vertical and, occasionally, blood transfusion. HEV is more common in developing countries, but it has recently become more widespread in developed countries as well. The Middle East (ME) has long been an endemic location for HEV infection. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the seroprevalence of anti-HEV antibodies in ME countries. The author systematically searched five databases, namely ScienceDirect, EMBASE, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar, to identify English-language articles published on or before 25 April 2022. Comprehensive meta-analysis software was used for all statistical analyses (CMA, version 3, BioStat, Englewood, CO, USA). After quality control and exclusion of irrelevant studies, 80 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis. A forest plot showed that the overall pooled seroprevalence of HEV infection in ME countries in the fixed-effect and random-effect models were 21.3% (95% CI: 0.209–0.216) and 11.8% (95% CI: 0.099–0.144), respectively. Furthermore, the findings showed a high level of heterogeneity (I2 = 98.733%) among the included studies. In both fixed-effect and random-effect models, the seroprevalence of HEV infection by country was high in Egypt as compared to other regions, at 35.0% (95% CI: 0.342–0.359), and 34.7% (95% CI: 0.153–0.611), respectively. The seroprevalence of HEV infection by country was high among pregnant women, at 47.9% (95% CI: 0.459–0.499) in the fixed-effect model, and in renal transplant recipients, at 30.8% (95% CI: 0.222–0.410) in the random-effect model. The seroprevalence of HEV infection varies by country and study population in the Middle East. More research is needed to determine the disease’s incidence, morbidity, and mortality in the region, where it is prevalent.

A Novel In-House Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Genotype 3 Hepatitis E Virus Reveals High Seroprevalence in Blood Donors in Northern Argentina.

The Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emergent virus that causes acute hepatitis in immunocompetent hosts and chronic hepatitis in immunocompromised hosts. In Latin America, the main circulating genotype HEV-3 is usually of zoonotic origin. Diagnosis and seroprevalence studies mainly rely on the detection of specific antibodies. There are scarce data on the seroprevalence of HEV infection in Latin America mainly due to the lack of awareness of HEV circulation. Furthermore, in some countries, like Argentina, HEV testing is not included in routine assays. In order to provide tools to deepen the knowledge on HEV epidemiology in South America, we designed a new in-house ELISA based on the native recombinant protein ORF2 aa112–608 and demonstrated its potential for detecting anti-HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) in human serum samples. The following conditions were determined: an optimal antigen concentration of 0.25 μg/ml, a serum dilution of 1:80, gelatin as a blocking agent, and a secondary antibody dilution of 1:2000. A relative sensitivity of 93.33% (95% CI: 77.9–99.2%) and a relative specificity of 99.4% (95% CI: 96.7–100%) were determined using a panel of previously characterized sera and a gold standard (HEV IgG ELISA, DIA.PRO, Italy). Further, we obtained a very good agreement (κ index = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.87–1.00) with the gold standard. We screened 813 blood donor samples with this newly developed ELISA and found a seroprevalence of 9.23% (95% confidence interval, 7.33–11.43%). We show for the first time evidence of past HEV infection in Tucuman, the most populated city in northern Argentina. We expect that this study will raise the interest of health decision makers who should intercede to include indirect testing of HEV in regular diagnostic protocols. In conclusion, the in-house ELISA developed in this work shows a very good agreement with an already licensed commercial HEV IgG ELISA (DIA.PRO, ITALY), which can be used as an epidemiologic tool for HEV surveillance.

High seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus in the ethnic minority populations in Yunnan, China.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is relatively high in the southern regions of China. Yunnan, located in southwestern China, has the highest number of ethnic groups. However, HEV infection in the ethnic population is largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the seropositive rate, risk factor, and clinical impact of HEV infection in the ethnic groups of Yunnan. We recruited 1912 individuals from four minority groups in three prefectures of Yunnan province. Epidemiological records on potential risk factors for exposure to HEV and blood biochemical index were analyzed. All the serum samples were tested for anti-HEV IgM/IgG by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the IgM-positive samples were subjected to nested reverse transcription-PCR to detect HEV RNA. Overall, 1273 individuals (66.58%) were positive for anti-HEV IgG, 16 (0.84%) for anti-HEV IgM, and 64 (3.35%) for anti-HEV IgG and IgM both; none of them had detectable HEV RNA. Multivariate analysis revealed a strong statistical association between ethnic origin and HEV IgG seroprevalence. Anti-HEV IgG reactivity in the Hani ethnic (82.3%; 401/487) population was higher than that in the Naxi (71.9%, 340/473), Bulang (65.1%; 302/464), and Wa (60.2%; 294/488) ethnic populations (p < 0.0001). Older age and male sex were independently associated with the risk of past HEV infection. Moreover, anti-HEV IgG-positive individuals showed significantly higher levels of total and direct bilirubin and alanine amino transferase but significantly lower levels of globulin and low-density lipoprotein, than the respective levels in anti-HEV IgG-negative individuals. Thus, the seroprevalence of HEV infection is high in the ethnic populations of Yunnan, China. It is therefore necessary to increase the surveillance of specific risk groups and raise awareness about the possible infectious diseases to help limit the HEV transmission here.

Simple and specific method for detection of antibodies against hepatitis E virus in mammalian species

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the causative agent of hepatitis E, a food- and water-borne disease. In developed countries, consumption of meats from pigs, wild boars and deer is a major source of infection. Although HEV and HEV-related viruses have been detected in many animal species, their zoonotic potential and prevalence has not been completely understood. To detect anti-HEV antibody in mammalian species, a simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was established using extract from cells expressing HEV capsid protein and protein A/G as an antigen and a reagent for detection of antibody. Absorbance in the ELISA was compared with those in our previous ELISA using VLPs and anti-swine antibody, suggesting that newly established ELISA was similarly specific and sensitive as the previous ELISA. Seroprevalence of HEV infection among wild boars was examined in Yamaguchi Prefecture, confirming that 111 of 364 wild boars (30.5%) were positive for anti-HEV antibody. Next, this ELISA was applied to humans, dogs, cats, ferrets, raccoons and masked palm civets in Japan, and anti-HEV antibodies were detected in humans, ferrets, dogs and cats. This ELISA is thus useful for serological surveys and comparison of HEV infection among various mammals, including humans.

Incidence and seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus infection in pregnant women infected with hepatitis B virus and antibody placental transfer in infants

BackgroundHepatitis E has poor outcomes in pregnant women. Superinfection of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) may worsen liver disease. ObjectivesTo estimate the incidence and seroprevalence of HEV infection among HBV-infected pregnant women, to investigate the transplacental transfer of maternal anti-HEV IgG, and to compare the maternal and neonatal outcomes in anti-HEV positive and negative pregnant women. Study designTotally 391 HBV-infected pregnant women were recruited from April 2012 to October 2014. Paired mothers and infants were followed up at an average 9.8 months postpartum. Anti-HEV IgG and IgM were tested by ELISA. ResultsOf the pregnant women, none was anti-HEV IgM positive and 42 (10.7%) were IgG positive. At the follow-up, 3 seronegative women converted to anti-HEV IgG positive, with an estimated incidence of 17 per 1000 person-years. No significant differences of gestational age, preterm birth rate, Apgar score and birthweight were observed between newborns of anti-HEV IgG positive and negative mothers. Of the 42 neonates born to anti-HEV IgG positive mothers, 38 (90.5%) had anti-HEV IgG in their cord blood. The neonatal and maternal anti-HEV IgG levels were positively correlated (r=0.827, p<0.05). All infants were negative for both anti-HEV IgM and IgG at the follow-up. ConclusionsHBV-infected pregnant women rarely have novel HEV infection during late pregnancy in Jiangsu, China. Maternal anti-HEV IgG efficiently transfers into the fetuses, and disappears in infants before 10 months old.

Viral and Antibody Prevalence of Hepatitis E in European Wild Boars (Sus scrofa) and Hunters at Zoonotic Risk in the Latium Region

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a member of the genus Hepevirus within the family Hepeviridae. Hepatitis E is recognized as a zoonosis, and swine and wild boars (Sus scrofa) are known reservoirs of HEV infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of HEV in wild boars and hunters exposed to infection in central Italy (Latium region). During the hunting season, blood samples were collected from 228 wild boars and 20 hunters. The seroprevalence of HEV infection was determined using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, previously validated for use in man, pigs and wild boars. The estimated HEV seroprevalence in wild boars and in hunters was 40.7% (93/228; 95% confidence interval [CI] 34.4-47.1%) and 25% (5/20; 95% CI 6.1-43.9%), respectively. Liver samples were collected from the boars and HEV RNA was detected by nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Fifty-five of 164 tested wild boar liver samples (33.5%; 95% CI 26.2-40.7%) and three of 20 (15.0%; 95% CI 1.3-28.7%) tested human serum samples were positive for HEV RNA. Phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequences obtained from PCR products indicated that the HEV strains present in wild boars and the human population all belonged to genotype 3, supporting the zoonotic role of wild boars in the spread of HEV infection.

First report of hepatitis E virus infection in sika deer in China.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a single stranded RNA, nonenveloped virus, belongs to the genus Hepevirus, in the family of Hepeviridae. In this study, 46 (5.43%) out of the 847 serum samples from sika deer (Cervus nippon) were detected as seropositive with hepatitis E virus (HEV) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These samples were collected from Inner Mongolia and Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in China, between October 2012 and October 2013. Seroprevalence of HEV infection in male and female deer was 4.82% and 6.52%, respectively. HEV seroprevalence in sika deer from different geographical locations varied from 3.13% to 6.73%. There was no significant difference in HEV seroprevalence between sika deer collected in autumn (5.65%) and winter (4.85%). This is the first report of HEV seroprevalence in sika deer in China, which will provide foundation information for estimating the effectiveness of future measures to control HEV infection in sika deer in China and assessing the potential risk of humans infected with HEV after consumption of undercooked or raw meat from infected sika deer.

The seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus infection in the preselected population from Romania: a hospital survey

Background Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a significant public health problem in many parts of the world. The virus is classified into four major genotypes, representing a single serotype. HEV genotypes 1 and 2 are restricted to humans and usually transmitted via fecally-contaminated water, resulting in large outbreaks and epidemics of acute hepatitis in developing countries. HEV genotypes 3 and 4 can infect humans as well as other mammalian species (e.g. pigs) and associate sporadic cases of autochthonous hepatitis E, recently described in developed countries. In these areas, zoonotic transmission appears to play a major role. Moreover, genotype 3 HEV infection can cause chronic hepatitis in immunosuppressed patients. The estimated seroprevalence of HEV infection in these regions is variable, between less than 5% and 52% in southwestern France. To date, no HEV seroprevalence studies have been performed in Romania.

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Hepatitis E Virus Infection in Three Species of Pet Birds in Northwest China

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), the causative agent of hepatitis E, has been reported in a wide variety of animals, including birds, but little is known of HEV infection in pet birds in northwest China. The objective of the present investigation was to examine HEV seroprevalence in three species of pet birds, namely, Eurasian siskin, Oriental skylark, and black-tailed grosbeak from Gansu. Serum samples collected from 685 pet birds from August 2011 to September 2012 were examined independently for the presence of antibodies against HEV. A total of 59 (8.31%) pet birds were tested positive for HEV antibodies by the commercially available enzyme immunoassay kits. Of these, the seroprevalence was diverse in different species pet birds; the most frequent level was 10.83% (39/360) in Eurasian siskin, followed by 6.57% (19/289) in Oriental skylark, and 2.29% (1/36) in black-tailed grosbeak. Age and collecting region of pet birds were the main risk factors associated with HEV infection. The present study firstly revealed the seroprevalence of HEV infection in three species of pet birds in northwest China, which provided the baseline data for taking comprehensive countermeasures and measures for effectively preventing and controlling HEV infection in birds.

Identification of genetic diversity of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and determination of the seroprevalence of HEV in eastern China

Hepatitis E, caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV), is endemic in China. However, the molecular characteristics of HEV circulating in eastern China and the seroprevalence of HEV infection in eastern China are relatively unknown. In this study, 25 HEV strains, isolated from sporadic hepatitis E cases in eastern China, were sequenced in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase region and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. These HEV strains were 74.6-98.7% identical in nucleotides and were all clustered into HEV genotype 4. Most of them formed new sub-genotypes and revealed a high degree of genetic variance. In addition, 12,052 serum samples were collected from people of different ages, living in urban or rural areas in eastern China. Anti-HEV IgG activity was detected in 2073 (17.20%). The prevalence of anti-HEV IgG significantly increased with age (P<0.0001), ranging from 7.92% in children (<10 years old) to 21.48% among older persons (>or=60 years old). Moreover, statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference between rural and urban areas, with higher prevalence for people living in rural neighborhoods (P<0.001).