Background: Hepatitis E causes a significant burden of disease in developing countries and has recently been increasingly recognized in developed countries. Comparing population anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) seroprevalence across populations has been difficult.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence in both adults and children in three hyper-endemic areas (Nepal, Bangladesh and southwest France) using a sensitive, commercial anti-HEV IgG assay.
Study design: Serum or plasma from adults and children in Nepal (n=498), Bangladesh (n=1,009) and Southwest France (n=1031) were tested for anti-HEV IgG using the Wantai assay.
Results: After age-standardization, anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence was 47.1%, 49.8% and 34.0% in Nepal, Bangladesh and southwest France, respectively. There was no difference in seroprevalence by gender in any of the countries. A paucity of infections in children 1-10 years-old was consistently observed (less than 15%) at all 3 locations.
Conclusions: Surprisingly similar high rates of anti-HEV antibodies were detected using a common, sensitive assay. Despite differences in the epidemiology and circulating genotype of HEV in Nepal, Bangladesh and southwest France, this study found more similarities in population seroprevalence than expected.
【저자키워드】 Adult, Child, Seroepidemiologic studies, hepatitis E virus,