Hepatitis E virus infection in Brazil: results of laboratory-based surveillance from 1998 to 2013

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Ana Maria Passos-Castilho, Anne de Sena, Mônica Renata Reinaldo, Celso Francisco Hernandes Granato
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2015
• Subjects: Hepatitis E vírus; Epidemiology; Seroprevalence; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0036-2015; https://doaj.org/article/e3e8030de7774a7795af3ce81b7995b6

INTRODUCTION: Data on hepatitis E virus (HEV) in Brazil are limited. We analyzed 15 years of HEV surveillance data in a major clinical laboratory in São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: The seroprevalence of HEV of 2,271 patients subjected to anti-HEV tests from 1998 to 2013 were analyzed. RESULTS: HEV seroprevalence was 2.1%, and the anti-HEV IgM positivity rate was 4.9%. Six hepatitis E patients were identified. CONCLUSIONS: HEV seroprevalence and detection rates appear to have increased in recent years. Hepatitis E should be investigated further and included in the differential diagnosis of hepatitis in Brazil.