DETECTION OF ANTIBODIES TO HEPATITIS-E VIRUS IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE CHRONIC ACTIVE HEPATITIS AND PRIMARY BILIARY-CIRRHOSIS

Background: Viral hepatitis E (HEV) frequently causes epidemic outbrea ks in many developing countries. It is also present in developed count ries as imported cases. The role of hepatitis A virus as a trigger for autoimmune chronic hepatitis has been demonstrated, and it has been s uggested that this may also apply to KEV. Methods: The presence of ant i-HEV antibodies in serum samples from patients with autoimmune chroni c active hepatitis (n = 52) and with primary biliary cirrhosis (n = 25 ) was investigated using an Abbott assay and a peptide-based test. Res ults: Anti-HEV antibodies were detected with the Abbott test in 13% (7 of 52) of the patients with autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, but none of these were positive in the synthetic peptide-based test. Concl usion: These findings indicate that KEV is not associated with primary biliary cirrhosis but may be implicated in some cases of autoimmune c hronic active hepatitis.