Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus among pregnant women and control subjects in China

Abstract

Hepatitis E infection, caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV), is an important global public health concern, with particularly high mortality in pregnant women. China is generally judged to be an HEV-endemic area, but epidemiological data for HEV among pregnant women are limited. Between June 2011 and July 2013, a case-control study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence and potential risk factors associated with the acquisition of HEV infection by pregnant women in China. Nine-hundred and ninety pregnant women who visited hospitals for antenatal follow-up or medication in Qingdao and Weihai and 965 control subjects matched by age, gender and residence were examined for the presence of anti-HEV IgG and IgM antibodies by enzyme immunoassays. Socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics from the study subjects were obtained. The overall prevalence of anti-HEV IgG in all 1,955 samples was 20.7%. In pregnant women, 16.2% of samples were anti-HEV IgG positive whereas, in control subjects 25.3% of samples were anti-HEV IgG positive, (P < 0.01). For anti-HEV IgM detection, 62 (3.2%) of the 1,955 serum samples were positive and the seroprevalence in pregnant women and control subjects was 2.6% and 3.6%, respectively. Age, contact with cats, contact with pigs and exposure to soil were found to be associated with HEV infection. These findings demonstrated the high prevalence of HEV and the considerable potential for the transmission of HEV infection in pregnant women in China.

Acute Hepatitis E Virus infection in two geographical regions of Nigeria

“…Our finding, though higher than 0% rate reported in a similar cohort in France [45], is lower than rates ranging from 2.6% to 33% recorded by several authors in a similar cohort in different regions of the world [46][47][48][49][50]. Variation in the performance of different ELISA kits employed in these studies may account for the difference in rates reported.…”

Seroprevalence and risk factors of hepatitis E virus infection among the Korean, Manchu, Mongol, and Han ethnic groups in Eastern and Northeastern China

“…In developing countries, the consumption of raw or undercooked meat, and source of drinking water, especially in rural areas with poor sanitation are considered to be related to the risk of HEV infection. Moreover, it is common for residents to raising pigs and eating the pork, which increases the potential threat of being infected with HEV in suburban or rural regions, especially in northeastern areas …”

“…There are three million typical acute cases caused by HEV, which lead to 70 000 deaths each year in the world . In recent years, human HEV infection has been reported in many countries, such as USA, Italy, Brazil, Australia, Netherlands, Malawi, Iran, and Japan, as well as China …”

Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence among farmers, veterinarians and control subjects in Jilin province, Shandong province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

“…Recent study in China have shown the seroprevalence of HEV infection in swine, swine farmers, and the general population [Liang et al, ]. Although several studies have reported the prevalence of HEV infection in Shandong and Jilin provinces [Cong et al, , ; Meng et al, ], there is a lack of such research about farmers and veterinarians in Shandong province, Jilin province, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Thus, additional surveys should be conducted to determine the relationship between these target groups and swine HEV infections.…”