title: An update on the hepatitis E virus.
abstract: There have been recent key advances in the understanding of hepatitis E virus infection. Since the early 1980s, when the virus was first discovered, hepatitis E has been described as a disease that is endemic only in the African and Asian subcontinents, a disease that is transmitted via the fecal-oral route, and a disease that causes an acute illness that typically resolves, with the exception of the third trimester of pregnancy, when infection can be deadly. We now know that genotype 3 is likely a porcine zoonotic disease that is quite prevalent in certain industrialized nations. Hepatitis E carries high morbidity and mortality in patients with underlying liver disease and can become a chronic infection that causes fibrosis in immunocompromised hosts. Lastly, two vaccines have been developed and studied in clinical trials, with excellent results.
authors: Department of Medicine, Division of Hepatology, Schiff Center for Liver Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA. ssclair@med.miami.edu
authors: Seth N
authors: SN
authors: Sclair
authors: Eugene R
authors: ER
authors: Schiff
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000175:diagnosis; D060085:Coinfection / Q000821:virology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents