title: [A case of acute hepatitis E with the travel history to an endemic area].
abstract: Hepatitis E is a self-limited and enterically transmitted acute viral hepatitis that occurs from epidemic outbreaks of developing countries and sporadic hepatitis in non-endemic areas. In endemic areas, hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the most common causes of acute hepatitis and hepatic failure in pregnancy. Its mortality rate has been reported up to 20%. In non-endemic areas, HEV infection without any travel history is very rare. In Korea, only one case of simple hepatitis E without any travel history to endemic areas was reported. Recently, we experienced a case of acute hepatitis. The patient who had a travel history to India, showed watery diarrhea and high fever. Transaminase level and total bilirubin were increased, and prothrombin time was prolonged. It was positive for IgM anti-HEV and IgG anti-HEV, and showed no evidence of other viral infections or drug ingestion history. In spite of absence of useful test such as seroconversion of IgM anti-HEV and HEV RNA PCR, we diagnosed the case as an acute hepatitis E from his symptom, travel history and initial serologic marker. We report this as a case of hepatitis E infected from endemic areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and WHO Collaborating Center on Viral Hepatitis, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul 137-040, Korea.
authors.forename: Soon Sub
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Chang Dong
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: Jin Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyeon Seong
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jeong Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Chang Wook
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Si Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Jong Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Seung Kew
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Yoon
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D014195:Travel