Prevalence of and risk factors for antibody to hepatitis E virus seroreactivity among blood donors in Northern California.
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.
Mast
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EE
Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
Kuramoto
I K
IK
Favorov
M O
MO
Schoening
V R
VR
Burkholder
B T
BT
Shapiro
C N
CN
Holland
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PV
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
D000914:Antibodies, Viral