AI Article Synopsis
- Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) is a major cause of hepatitis globally, with high infection rates in South-Western France, particularly linked to Orthohepevirus-A, although some rare cases involve Orthohepevirus-C (HEV-C) from rats.
- In a study screening 224 serum samples mainly from immunocompromised patients in the region, liver function tests showed elevated levels in 63% of cases, with significant anti-HEV IgG and IgM presence.
- Despite the high rates of anti-HEV antibodies, none of the samples tested were positive for HEV-C RNA, indicating that HEV-C is not circulating in South-Western France's human population.
Article Abstract
Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) is one of the most common causes of hepatitis worldwide, and South-Western France is a high HEV seroprevalence area. While most cases of HEV infection are associated with the species Orthohepevirus-A, several studies have reported a few cases of HEV infections due to Orthohepevirus-C (HEV-C) that usually infects rats. Most of these human cases have occurred in immunocompromised patients. We have screened for the presence of HEV-C in our region. We tested 224 sera, mostly from immunocompromised patients, for HEV-C RNA using an in-house real time RT-PCR. Liver function tests gave elevated results in 63% of patients: mean ALT was 159 IU/L (normal < 40 IU/L). Anti-HEV IgG (49%) and anti-HEV IgM (9.4%) were frequently present but none of the samples tested positive for HEV-C RNA. HEV-C does not circulate in the human population of South-Western France, despite the high seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8448288 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.726363 | DOI Listing |
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