Hepatitis E virus infection in pregnant women, Argentina

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an important cause of acute hepatitis worldwide. In pregnant women, HEV can cause more severe symptoms, with high rates of fatal hepatic failure in endemic countries. However, HEV prevalence and circulation among pregnant women from South America is almost unknown. We aimed to investigate HEV infection in pregnant women for the first time in Argentina.

IgG and IgM anti-HEV antibodies and RNA-HEV were investigated (by ELISA assays and RT-Nested-PCR, respectively) in 202 serum samples from pregnant women collected in the central region of Argentina between 2015 and 2017. A control group of 155 non-pregnant women was included (year 2018).

The IgG anti-HEV positivity rate was 8.4% (17/202), higher than the 2.6% (4/155) obtained for the non-pregnant women control group, and showing association between pregnancy and HEV infection (p = 0.023, OR = 3.5, CI95% = 1.1-10.5). Women younger than 25 years old presented higher levels of antibodies, and there were no differences in the prevalences between trimesters of pregnancy. Two samples were reactive for IgM anti-HEV, showing recent infections, although no symptoms were registered in these patients. All samples were negative for RNA-HEV amplification.

HEV produces infections in pregnant women from Argentina, alerting health teams to consider it as a possible cause of liver disease.