Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence in three hyperendemic areas: Nepal, Bangladesh and southwest France

Jacques Izopet, Alain B. Labrique, Buddha Basnyat, Harry R. Dalton, Brittany Kmush, Christopher D. Heaney, Kenrad E. Nelson, Zabed B. Ahmed, K. Zaman, Jean Michel Mansuy, Richard Bendall, Karine Sauné, Nassim Kamar, Amit Arjyal, Abhilasha Karkey, Sabina Dongol, Krishna Govind Prajapati, Dinesh Adhikary

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis E causes a significant burden of disease in developing countries and has recently been increasingly recognized in developed countries. Comparing population anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) seroprevalence across populations has been difficult. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence in both adults and children in three hyper-endemic areas (Nepal, Bangladesh and southwest France) using a sensitive, commercial anti-HEV IgG assay. Study Design: Serum or plasma from adults and children in Nepal (n=498), Bangladesh (. n=. 1,009) and Southwest France (. n=. 1031) were tested for anti-HEV IgG using the Wantai assay. Results: After age-standardization, anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence was 47.1%, 49.8% and 34.0% in Nepal, Bangladesh and southwest France, respectively. There was no difference in seroprevalence by gender in any of the countries. A paucity of infections in children 1-10 years-old was consistently observed (less than 15%) at all 3 locations. Conclusions: Surprisingly similar high rates of anti-HEV antibodies were detected using a common, sensitive assay. Despite differences in the epidemiology and circulating genotype of HEV in Nepal, Bangladesh and southwest France, this study found more similarities in population seroprevalence than expected.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)39-42
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Clinical Virology
Volume70
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2015

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Child
  • Hepatitis E Virus
  • Seroepidemiologic studies

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Virology
  • Infectious Diseases

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence in three hyperendemic areas: Nepal, Bangladesh and southwest France'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this