Seroprevalence and incidence of hepatitis E virus infection in the general population of Iwate prefecture, Japan: A retrospective cohort study.
Hepatol Res
; 54(1): 24-31, 2024 Jan.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37635642
ABSTRACT
AIM:
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes subclinical or acute self-limiting hepatitis. We surveyed the current seroprevalence and incidence of HEV infection among the general population in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, where the endemic infection is presumed to be low.METHODS:
Between 2014 and 2016, we recruited individuals from Iwate Prefecture, Japan, who visited a general medical work-up program. Serum anti-HEV antibody and HEV RNA were measured twice, with an interval of 2 years. Anti-HEV antibody was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and HEV RNA with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.RESULTS:
Study participants comprised 1284 Japanese (650 men and 634 women) with age ranging 20-89 years. A total of 90 participants were found to be positive for anti-HEV immunoglobulin G on the first visit, with a prevalence of 7.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.6%-8.4%). Seroprevalence was higher in men than in women (10.1% vs. 3.7%, p < 0.001), and in those aged in their 50s-80s than in those aged in their 20s-40s (p = 0.006). Positive seroconversion indicating new HEV infection was found in seven of 1194 seronegative participants (0.59%; 95% CI 0.15%-1.0%), indicating the incidence of HEV infection to be 272 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 109-561).CONCLUSIONS:
Our observations suggest that the incidence of HEV infection is high and that it is a leading cause of hepatitis virus infection in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Hepatol Res
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Japão