Absence of chronic hepatitis E in a German cohort of common variable immunodeficiency patients.
Cases of chronic or prolonged hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections have been described in solid organ transplant recipients, HIV infected patients and in patients with malignancies or idiopathic CD4(+) T lymphopenia. It is unknown if HEV infection also takes chronic courses in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). We studied a cohort of 73 CVID patients recruited in a low endemic Central European country. None of the subjects tested positive for HEV RNA or anti-HEV IgG. Immunoglobulin transfusions (n=10) tested negative for HEV RNA but all were anti-HEV positive. To verify that such pooled blood products contain anti-HEV protective antibodies we measured the anti-HEV IgG optical density (OD) values in patients before and after transfusion. Anti-HEV OD values increased after infusion but did not reach the cut-off considered as positive. Thus, chronic HEV infections seem to be rare events in CVID patients in Germany. Commercially available immunoglobulin infusions contain anti HEV antibodies and may contribute to protection from HEV infection.
Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endocrinology;
Sven
S
Pischke
Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endocrinology;
Ruediger
R
Horn-Wichmann
Clinic for Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology.
Diana
D
Ernst
Clinic for Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology.
Bjoern Georg
BG
Meyer
Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endocrinology;
Regina
R
Raupach
Clinic for Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology.
Gerrit
G
Ahrenstorf
Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Reinhold Ernst
RE
Schmidt
Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endocrinology;
Michael Peter
MP
Manns
Clinic for Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology.
Torsten
T
Witte
Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endocrinology;
Heiner
H
Wedemeyer
common variable immunodeficiency; hepatitis E