Epidemiology of hepatitis E virus infection in a cohort of 4023 immunocompromised patients
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- Epidemiology of hepatitis E virus infection in a cohort of 4023 immunocompromised patients
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Objectives: The prevalence of active, chronic, and former hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections was investigated in a cohort of immunocompromised patients. The association with transfusion transmitted HEV was evaluated, and the HEV seroprevalence was compared with that in healthy blood donors. Study design and methods: Serum samples from 4023 immunocompromised patients at Rigshospitalet, Denmark were retrospectively tested for HEV RNA and anti-HEV IgG. HEV RNA-positive patients were followed up by HEV testing, clinical symptoms, and transfusion history. Factors associated with anti-HEV were explored by multivariable logistic regression analysis. Samples from 1226 blood donors were retrospectively tested for anti-HEV IgG. Results: HEV RNA was detected in six patients (0.15%) with no indications of chronic HEV infection. HEV RNA prevalence rates among recipients of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and solid organ transplantation (SOT) were 0.58% and 0.21%, respectively. Transfusion transmitted infections were refuted, and transfusion history was not associated with anti-HEV positivity. The difference in HEV seroprevalence between patients (22.0%) and blood donors (10.9%) decreased when adjusting for age and sex (odds ratio 1.20, 95% confidence interval 0.97–1.48). Conclusions: HEV viremia among allo-HSCT and SOT recipients suggests that clinicians should be aware of this diagnosis. The lack of association of blood transfusion with anti-HEV positivity supports food-borne transmission as the main transmission route of HEV common to both patients and blood donors.
Original language | English |
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Journal | International Journal of Infectious Diseases |
Volume | 91 |
Pages (from-to) | 188-195 |
Number of pages | 8 |
ISSN | 1201-9712 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |
- Anti-HEV IgG, Chronic HEV infection, Epidemiology, Hepatitis E, HEV RNA, Immunocompromised, Transfusion transmission
Research areas
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