Prevalence of hepatitis E virus in Chinese blood donors.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies and RNA in voluntary blood donors, in China.

Methods: Serum samples from blood donors were collected sequentially at six blood donation centres in five geographical regions of China. Donors were stratified between two groups according to their serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentration (≤ 40 U/l and >40 U/l. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used to quantify anti-HEV antibodies and RNA, respectively.

Results: In total, 21.1% (172/816) of donors were positive for anti-HEV immunoglobulin (Ig) G (elevated ALT samples group 18.9% [85/450]; normal ALT group 23.8% [87/366]), and 0.5% (four of 816) donors were positive for anti-HEV IgM (elevated ALT group 0.9% [four of 450]; normal ALT group 0% [none of 366]). The rate of anti-HEV IgG seropositivity was significantly higher in male than in female donors. No serum sample tested positive for HEV RNA.

Conclusion: The prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies in blood donors in China is high, regardless of ALT concentration.