Age and Gender Trends in the Prevalence of Markers for Hepatitis E Virus Exposure in the Heterogeneous Bulgarian Population.

The prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the Bulgarian population remains underestimated. The aim of the present study was to evaluate age and gender trends in HEV prevalence in the heterogeneous Bulgarian population. Stored serum samples from blood donors and different patient sub-populations-kidney recipients (KR), patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), Lyme disease (LD), patients with liver involvement and a clinical diagnosis other than viral hepatitis A and E (non-AE), hemodialysis (HD) and HIV-positive patients (HIV)-were retrospectively investigated for markers of past and recent/ongoing HEV infection.

Assessment of hepatitis E seropositivity among HIV-infected patients in Bulgaria.

It is debatable whether HIV-infected patients are at greater risk for hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection compared with healthy subjects. The reported anti-HEV seroprevalence among different groups in Bulgaria varied from 9.04% to 25.