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

• Main Authors: Ana Maria Passos-Castilho, Anne de Sena, Mônica Renata Reinaldo, Celso Francisco Hernandes Granato
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2015-01-01
• Series: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Subjects: Hepatitis E vírus; Epidemiology; Seroprevalence
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822015005062015&lng=en&tlng=en

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.