Evidence of autochthonous hepatitis E in a Portuguese pediatric cohort, 1992-1995.
Despite the growing importance of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in industrialized countries, minimal attention has been given to autochthonous HEV infection in children. The present study screened archived sera (N = 71) from a Portuguese pediatric cohort collected in 1992-1995 for the presence of antibodies against HEV, using enzyme immunoassays and immunodot. Anti-HEV IgG was detected in two children and anti-HEV IgM in one, suggesting an acute HEV infection. This shows that HEV was circulating in the paediatric population of Portugal in the early 1990s.
Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal.
J R
JR
Mesquita
Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Farmacy of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
J
J
Abreu-Silva
CEBIMED, Faculty of Health Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal.
J C
JC
Sousa
Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
A
A
Aguiar
Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Farmacy of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
M S J
MS
Nascimento
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M
archived sera; autochthonous; children; hepatitis E