HEPATITIS-E VIRUS SEROPREVALENCE IN ACUTE VIRAL-HEPATITIS IN A DEVELOPED COUNTRY CONFIRMED BY A SUPPLEMENTAL ASSAY

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is prevalent among cases of acute vi ral hepatitis in young adults in developing countries. HEV infection i s not restricted to endemic areas, but would appear to be worldwide in distribution. In order to document the incidence of HEV infection in acute hepatitis cases in a developed country, IgG and IgM anti-HEV ant ibodies and HEV RNA were tested in 101 Caucasian patients with acute v iral hepatitis; 92 of these cases had markers of acute viral hepatitis other than HEV. forty-seven (46.5%) cases had IgG anti-HEV; IgM anti- HEV and HEV viremia were not detected. As the incidence of anti-HEV wa s higher than would be expected, the possibility of the occurrence of false positive results was subsequently investigated. Supplemental ant ibody testing, using a broadly reactive epitope region, reduced the fr equency of anti-HEV to 17%. Therefore, supplemental antibody testing c onfirms the hepatitis E virus seroprevalence in a developed country. S ince IgM anti-HEV and HEV viremia were not detected, persons with IgG anti-HEV may be ''subclinical HEV cases,'' or have long-lived antibodi es in their Circulation. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.