title: Seroepidemiological study of hepatitis E virus in different population groups.
abstract: In order to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus, 1,993 sera (453 from healthy pregnant women, 491 from Moroccan subjects, 492 from blood donors, 321 from children, and 236 from intravenous drug users) were studied. IgG was measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and positive results were confirmed by Western blot. The EIA detected antibodies in 3.96% of the subjects (5.6% of the Moroccans and drug users and 1.8% of the children). Fifty-four percent of these results were confirmed by Western blot, 11.4% were found to be negative, and 34.2% indeterminate. The overall prevalence after confirmation by Western blot decreased to 2.15%. When studying the Western blot pattern of the positive samples, 95% showed antibodies to SG-3, 65% to 8-5, and only 9.3% to CKS fusion protein. In the indeterminate Western blots, the results for these proteins were 96.3%, 62.9%, and 37%, respectively. When the epidemiological data were analysed, no statistically significant differences between women and men or between different age groups were found.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital, Department of Microbiology.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Bernal
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leyva
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Galan
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piedrola
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Heyermann
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Maroto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001782:Blood Donors; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009018:Morocco / Q000208:ethnology; D011247:Pregnancy; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies