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Possible risk factors for the transmission of hepatitis E virus and for the severe form of hepatitis E acquired locally in Hokkaido, Japan
Author(s) -
Mizuo Hitoshi,
Yazaki Yasuyuki,
Sugawara Kenji,
Tsuda Fumio,
Takahashi Masaharu,
Nishizawa Tsutomu,
Okamoto Hiroaki
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.20364
Subject(s) - hepatitis e virus , medicine , hepatitis , hepatitis e , fulminant hepatitis , hepatitis a , transmission (telecommunications) , viral hepatitis , genotype , virology , liver disease , jaundice , hepatitis c , gastroenterology , biology , biochemistry , gene , electrical engineering , engineering
Hepatitis E in industrialized countries has not been well studied. To define the possible risk factors for transmission of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and for the severe form of hepatitis E in Japan, we investigated the clinical and virological characteristics of hepatitis E in 32 patients who contracted the mild (n = 23) or severe form (n = 9) of domestically acquired hepatitis E between 1996 and 2004 in Hokkaido, where hepatitis E is most prevalent in Japan. Nine patients with the severe form of hepatitis E included two patients with fulminant hepatitis E and seven patients who were diagnosed with severe acute hepatitis in which hepatic encephalopathy did not appear during the course of the illness despite low plasma prothrombin activity (≤40%) and/or increased total bilirubin level (≥20 mg/dl). At least 25 patients (78%) had consumed uncooked or undercooked pig liver and/or intestine 1–2 months before the onset of hepatitis E. When compared with the seven patients with HEV genotype 3, the 25 patients with HEV genotype 4 had a higher peak alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level ( P = 0.0338) and a lower level of lowest prothrombin activity ( P = 0.0340). The severe form of hepatitis E was associated with the presence of an underlying disease (56% [5/9] vs. 17% [4/23], P = 0.0454). The study suggests that zoonotic food‐borne transmission of HEV plays an important role in the occurrence of hepatitis E in Hokkaido, Japan, and that the HEV genotype and the presence of an underlying disease influence the severity of hepatitis E. J. Med. Virol. 76:341–349, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.