Age-specific antibody to hepatitis E virus has remained constant during the past 20 years in Japan.
We investigated the presence of antibodies to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV) and hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) by enzyme immunoassays in sera from 1015 individuals collected in 1974, 1984 and 1994. Age-specific profiles of anti-HEV remained unchanged with a peak at 40-49 years, while those of anti-HAV started to increase in individuals aged 20-29 years in 1974, 30-39 years in 1984 and 40-49 years in 1994. These results suggest that a silent HEV infection has been taking place in the last 20 years or so in Japan, while HAV infection has been terminated at least since 1974.
Department of Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan. etanaka@hsp.md.shinshu-u.ac.jp
E
E
Tanaka
A
A
Matsumoto
N
N
Takeda
T-C
TC
Li
T
T
Umemura
K
K
Yoshizawa
Y
Y
Miyakawa
T
T
Miyamura
K
K
Kiyosawa
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012737:Sex Factors
D035922:Hepatitis A Antibodies; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies