Hepatitis E Virus in Domestic Pigs, Wild Boars, Pig Farm Workers, and Hunters in Estonia.

While hepatitis E is a growing health concern in Europe, epidemiological data on hepatitis E virus (HEV) in Estonia are scarce. Along with imported HEV infections, autochthonous cases are reported from European countries. Both domestic and wild animals can be a source of human cases of this zoonosis.

Detection and identification of Rickettsia species in Ixodes tick populations from Estonia.

A total of 1640 ticks collected in different geographical parts of Estonia were screened for the presence of Rickettsia species DNA by real-time PCR. DNA of Rickettsia was detected in 83 out of 1640 questing ticks with an overall prevalence of 5.1%.

Amino Acid Polymorphisms Within the Entire HCV NS5A Region in Estonian Chronic HCV 1b Patients With Different Treatment Response.

Background: A substantial proportion of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-1b infected patients do not response to pegylated interferon-α plus ribavirin (PegIFNα/RBV) combination therapy that was partially associated with mutations in the non-structural 5A (NS5A) protein.

Objectives: Analysis of NS5A polymorphisms in HCV genotype 1b pre-treatment serum samples from Estonian patients and their effect on the treatment response.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-nine complete NS5A sequences obtained from patients with chronic HCV-1b infection who had received combined therapy with PegIFNα-2a/RBV were analyzed and compared with the prototype strain HCV-J.

Sarcoidosis and chronic hepatitis C: a case report.

Several case reports deal with the relationship between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and pulmonary or hepatic sarcoidosis. Most publications describe interferon α-induced sarcoidosis. However, HCV infection per se is also suggested to cause sarcoidosis.

Efficacy of peginterferon alpha-2A and ribavirin combination therapy in treatment-naive Estonian patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) alpha-2a and ribavirin (RBV) combination therapy in treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C in Estonia.

Methods: Out of 121 outpatients with chronic hepatitis C (73 males, 48 females, aged 19-63) enrolled in the study, 76 were infected with HCV genotype 1b and 45 with genotype 3a. At baseline, the viral load in 75.