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Published on: June 26, 2020
Hepatitis E prevalence among HIV infected patients with elevated liver enzymes in the Netherlands
R J Hassing1, A A van der Eijk2, V Baptista Lopes3
1Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Inspectorate of Health Care, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Background:
In recent years chronic hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections have been reported in immunosuppressed patients, including HIV-positive patients with low CD4 cell counts. Because of delayed anti-HEV seroconversion in patients with CD4 cell count<200 cells/ml it is difficult to draw firm conclusions on HEV-seroprevalence in a population of HIV positive patients.
Objectives:
To determine the HEV seroprevalence in a population of HIV infected patients.
Study Design:
We retrospectively analysed the HEV prevalence in a population of 256 HIV infected patients with liver enzyme elevations (LEEs), using HEV specific antibody testing and HEV-RNA detection.
Results:
Within this cohort we observed a HEV-seroprevalence of 11.7%, without any anti-HEV IgM positive or HEV-RNA positive cases. HEV seropositivity was equally prevalent among different CD4(+) cell count groups.
Conclusion:
Although HIV infected patients in the Netherlands are at risk of acquiring HEV, the number of acute infections is low and no chronic cases were found.
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