A case of acute hepatitis E in Victoria.
OBJECTIVE
To report a case of acute hepatitis E in Victoria, confirmed by laboratory investigations.


METHODS
A 10-year-old boy presented for medical attention with a seven-day history of anorexia and jaundice, 17 days after arriving from Pakistan. The diagnosis of acute hepatitis E was suspected after exclusion of the known causes of viral hepatitis, and was further established by specific antibody testing and identification of hepatitis E virus-like particles in a faecal sample collected three weeks after the onset of illness.


RESULTS
The patient was managed at home, treated symptomatically and made a complete recovery.


CONCLUSIONS
In patients who arrive from countries where hepatitis E is endemic, and who develop non-A, non-B, non-C viral hepatitis, hepatitis E should be considered as a possible diagnosis.
Moaven
L D
LD
Virology Department, Fairfield Hospital, VIC.
Fuller
A J
AJ
Doultree
J C
JC
Marshall
J A
JA
Bowden
D S
DS
Moeckli
R A
RA
Locarnini
S A
SA
D000208:Acute Disease; D002648:Child; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan; D014195:Travel; D014739:Victoria