title: Prevalence of and risk factors for antibody to hepatitis E virus seroreactivity among blood donors in Northern California.
abstract: To evaluate antibody to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV) seroreactivity, 5000 US blood donors were tested for anti-HEV by two EIAs: a mosaic protein assay (MPr-EIA) and a recombinant protein assay (RPr-EIA). Overall, 59 (1.2%) were seroreactive by MPr-EIA and 70 (1.4%) were seroreactive by RPr-EIA. The overall concordance between tests was 98.5% (4925/5000); the concordance among reactive sera by either test was only 27% (27/102). In a case-control study, seroreactive persons were more likely than seronegative persons to have traveled to countries in which HEV is endemic (odds ratio [OR] for MPr-EIA = 4.3, P < .001; OR for RPr-EIA = 2.5, P = .005), but 31% of MPr-EIA anti-HEV-reactive persons and 38% of RPr-EIA anti-HEV-reactive persons had no history of international travel. These findings suggest that travelers to regions in which HEV is endemic can acquire subclinical HEV infection. The significance of anti-HEV seroreactivity among persons without an international travel history needs to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Mast
authors.forename: I K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Kuramoto
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Favorov
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Schoening
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Burkholder
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Holland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001782:Blood Donors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral