ABSTRACT
A steep rise in Hepatitis E diagnoses is currently being observed in Germany and other European countries. The objective of this study was (i) to assess whether this trend mirrors an increase in infection pressure or is caused by increased attention and testing and (ii) estimate individual and population-based Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) seroconversion and seroreversion rates for Germany. We measured anti-HEV IgG prevalence in 10 407 adults participating in two linked, population-representative serosurveys (total n = 12 971) conducted in 1998 and 2010. In this period, we found a moderate but statistically significant decline of overall anti-HEV IgG prevalence from 18.6% to 15.3%. At both time points, seroprevalence increased with age and peaked in persons born between 1935 and 1959 suggesting a past period of increased infection pressure. Paired samples of individuals participating in 1998 and 2010 (n = 2564) revealed respective seroconversion and seroreversion rates of 6.2% and 22.6% among seronegative and seropositive individuals during 12 years, or 5.2 and 2.9 per 1000 inhabitants per year. This corresponds to a total of 417 242 [95%CI: 344 363-495 971] new seroconversions per year in the German population. While anti-HEV seroprevalence has decreased in the last decade, infection pressure and seroincidence remains high in Germany. Continuously rising numbers of Hepatitis E diagnoses in Europe are likely due to an increased awareness of clinicians and indicate that still there is a gap between incident and diagnosed cases. Studies on the true burden of the disease, specific risk factors and sources of autochthonous infections as well as targeted prevention measures are urgently needed.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis E virus/immunology , Hepatitis E/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Betacoronavirus 1 , Female , Germany/epidemiology , Hepatitis Antibodies/blood , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Incidence , Male , Middle Aged , Seroconversion , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Young AdultABSTRACT
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is highly endemic in industrialized countries, but there is a lack of knowledge on individual and overall antibody concentration dynamics. The aim of this study was to characterize longitudinal concentration changes of anti-HEV immunoglobulin G (anti-HEV IgG) by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). In total, 199 serum samples collected from 45 subjects over 18 years were analysed. A wide range of anti-HEV IgG levels was found. Overall, anti-HEV IgG significantly decreased after an observation period of at least 5 years. One negative seroconversion was observed. Four individual profiles suggested single and even multiple HEV reinfections despite pre-existing HEV antibodies.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis Antibodies/blood , Hepatitis E/immunology , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle Aged , Time Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
We tested 19 sera from Austrian patients with acute hepatitis A. A serum from a 48-year-old female patient yielded HAV-nucleic acid that showed 99.7% homology to the HAV-sequence obtained from samples taken during the current outbreak in several European countries, which is associated with consumption of frozen berries. So far, Austria was considered not to be affected by this hepatitis A outbreak.
