HEPATITIS-E VIRUS-INFECTION IN NORTHEAST ITALY - SEROLOGICAL STUDY INTHE OPEN POPULATION AND GROUPS AT RISK

Developed western countries are considered to be relatively free from endemic foci of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections. The aim of this st udy was to assess the seroepidemiology of HEV in north-east Italy. Of the 2361 individuals studied 1889 were representative of the general p opulation and 472 were from groups at high risk for viral infections: 279 drug users and 193 patients on chronic haemodialysis. All sera wer e tested for hepatitis C virus antibody (HCVAb), human immunodeficienc y virus antibody (HIVAb) and for hepatitis B virus (HBV) serology. Two solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to s tudy the seroepidemiology of HEV IgG, the first (using recombinant ant igens) for screening, the second (using synthetic peptides) for confir mation of initially reactive samples. The prevalence of circulating he patitis E virus antibody (HEVAb) was 2.6% in the open population, 5.4% among drug users and 9.3% among patients on chronic haemodialysis. In the open population a positive relationship between age and prevalenc e of HEVAb was observed. A relationship between presence of HEVAb and serological evidence of previous HBV or HCV infections was also observ ed in this study. It was concluded that HEV infections are present in north-east Italy and are more frequent among subjects at risk for bloo d-borne viral infections. The positive correlation, observed in the op en population, between age and prevalence of HEVAb suggests the presen ce of a cohort effect.