ACUTE SPORADIC HEPATITIS-E IN KUWAIT

Fifty-seven adult patients with acute hepatitis and 34 comparison pati ents without liver disease were evaluated using a newly developed West ern blot assay for IgM antibody to hepatitis E virus. The mean age of patients with hepatitis was 32 years (range, 18-55 years); 88% were ma le. Among patients with acute hepatitis, hepatitis A (anti-HAV IgM pos itive) was diagnosed in two (4%), hepatitis B (anti-HBc IgM positive) in three (5%), and hepatitis E (anti-HEV IgM positive) in 34 (60%). On e hepatitis patient had CMV IgM, another had EBV IgM, and 16 others (2 8%) were negative for all serologic markers of acute viral hepatitis. No patient with acute hepatitis A or B and none of the comparison pati ents without acute hepatitis had anti-HEV IgM. All but one case of acu te hepatitis E were found among ex-patriates of Asian origin, and acut e hepatitis E was associated significantly with recent travel to the I ndian subcontinent. These data suggest that acute hepatitis E is commo n among foreign workers in Kuwait but that little HEV transmission is occurring directly in Kuwait. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.