title: Systematic serological testing for hepatitis E virus in kidney transplant recipients.
abstract: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 is endemic in Europe and hyperendemic in southern France. Recent reports of a high prevalence of HEV RNA in blood donations and in culinary specialties from this geographical area confirmed the endemicity of HEV and sources of viral transmission in this geographical area. HEV causes acute and chronic hepatitis in solid organ transplant recipients. Since March 2012, we have implemented systematic HEV serological testing in our cohort of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) in Marseille in southeastern France. The aim of our study was to assess HEV exposure in this cohort between March 2012 and May 2014. During these 27 months, we found that 39% of the patients who underwent kidney transplantation had an anti-HEV IgG response using a sensitive microplate enzyme immunoassay. This seroprevalence was approximately 43% at both 1 and 8 years after, using the same assay. In addition, systematic HEV serological testing detected 6 cases of HEV infection among 578 KTRs (1%) during the 27 months of the study, with 5 at an acute stage and 1 at a chronic stage. In conclusion, continuous HEV monitoring in this population is useful for better understanding the epidemiology of HEV in France, because these patients are a well-monitored population. Moreover, HEV monitoring in KTRs is clinically relevant because HEV represents a clinical threat in these patients. Nevertheless, HEV serological testing may be more fruitful for identifying HEV infections when performed in cases of biological liver abnormalities than when performed systematically.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Néphrologie et Transplantation Rénale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France URMITE, UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France vmoal@ap-hm.fr.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moal
authors.affiliation: Centre de Néphrologie et Transplantation Rénale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Tristan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Legris
authors.affiliation: Fondation IHU Méditerranée Infection, Pôle des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Clinique et Biologique, Fédération de Bactériologie-Hygiène-Virologie, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Timone, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Motte
authors.affiliation: Centre de Néphrologie et Transplantation Rénale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Henri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vacher-Coponat
authors.affiliation: Centre de Néphrologie et Transplantation Rénale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fages
authors.affiliation: Centre de Néphrologie et Transplantation Rénale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Noémie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jourde-Chiche
authors.affiliation: Service d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borentain
authors.affiliation: Centre de Néphrologie et Transplantation Rénale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jaubert
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France Service d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gerolami
authors.affiliation: URMITE, UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France Fondation IHU Méditerranée Infection, Pôle des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Clinique et Biologique, Fédération de Bactériologie-Hygiène-Virologie, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Timone, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D066027:Transplant Recipients; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G