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Emerging viral pathogens in long‐term expatriates (I): Hepatitis E virus
Author(s) -
Jänisch Th.,
Preiser W.,
Berger A.,
Mikulicz U.,
Thoma B.,
Hampl H.,
Doerr H. W.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.1997.00095.x
Subject(s) - seroprevalence , hepatitis e virus , hepatitis e , viral hepatitis , virology , latin americans , medicine , demography , serology , immunology , biology , antibody , genotype , biochemistry , linguistics , philosophy , sociology , gene
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the so‐called ‘emerging’ viral pathogens, whose rôle is increasingly being recognized. To estimate the risk of HEV infection during long‐term stays in HEV‐endemic countries, 500 serum samples obtained from development aid workers and their family members who had spent on average 9 years in HEV‐endemic regions were tested for antibodies against HEV by ELISA and Immunoblot. We found seroprevalence rates of 5–6% with no significant differences related to gender or area of upbringing (raised in an HEV‐endemic vs. nonendemic region). Seroprevalence rates did not increase with increasing number of stays or number of expatriate years. None of 77 children and adolescents tested was positive for anti‐HEV. The Indian subcontinent showed the highest seropositive rate with 10%. In subjects returning from West and Central Africa, East Africa, South‐east Asia and Latin America seroprevalence rates were around 7%. We found a comparatively low seroprevalence rate of 2.1% for the Arab countries and the Middle East. Our results show that there definitely is a risk for long‐term expatriates to acquire HEV infection; however, in most of our cases infection seems to have been non‐ or oligo‐symptomatic.