Knowledge Is Safety: The Time Is Ripe for Hepatitis E Virus Blood Donor Screening

Recently, Hewitt et al. [1] demonstrated transmission of hepatitis E viruses (HEV) via contaminated blood in 42% of transfusion recipients. The authors reported a prevalence rate of 1:2,848 HEV RNA-positive donors in England, a figure comparable to other European countries (Germany 1:1,240 [2], The Netherlands 1:1,761 [3]). In industrial countries, chronic, severe, or fatal HEV infections have been observed in immunosuppressed individuals (e.g. transplant patients, hematological patients [4]) and in individuals with pre-existing liver diseases [5,6].