A case of acute hepatitis E in Victoria

Seroepidemiology of hepatitis E in selected Australian populations

The presence of hepatitis E virus-specific antibodies (anti-HEV) was determined in selected Australian groups. Anti-HEV was detected initially using a recombinant antigen-based enzyme immunoassay (EIA). It was found that 1 of 279 (0.4%) blood donors, 14 of 182 (7.7%) Indochinese refugees, 2 of 89 (2.2%) sera submitted for amoebic serology (generally people who had visited developing countries), 1 of 13 (7.7%) patients with non-A, non-B hepatitis, none of 7 (0%) patients with fulminant non-A, non-B hepatitis, and none of 33 (0%) control sera were repeatedly reactive by the HEV EIA. The positive sera were subjected to further testing using a supplemental immunoblot. Preliminary data suggest that while potentially large numbers of people infected with HEV are entering Australia, no compulsive evidence was found in these particular groups for endemic HEV infection in Australia. This is the first seroepidemiological survey of HEV in Australia.

The role of hepatitis E virus in acute sporadic non-A, non-B hepatitis

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the cause of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis. Water-borne epidemics have been reported in many developing countries primarily affecting young and middle-aged adults. To determine the role of HEV in acute sporadic NANB hepatitis, we have studied the profiles of anti-HEV IgG in the sera of patients previously diagnosed for NANB hepatitis. We tested the sera of 53 patients with acute NANB hepatitis and 100 healthy people as a control group for anti-HEV IgG. Thirty-nine of the 53 patients (73.3%) and none of the control group were positive for HEV infection, according to results shown by ELISA. This result suggests that HEV is a common cause of acute sporadic NANB hepatitis in Turkey. Further studies are needed in the other regions to determine the true prevalence of HEV infection in Turkey.