Seroepidemiology of hepatitis E virus in patients with non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis in Hungary

Many cases of acute hepatitis remain undiagnosed and the hepatitis E virus (HEV) is emerging in industrialized countries. The aim of this study was to assess the role HEV as causative agent in acute non-A, non-B, and non-C hepatitis patients in Hungary. 10.5% of the 264 acute non-A, non-B, and non-C hepatitis patients tested had anti-HEV IgG and 1.9% had anti-HEV IgM as tested by ELISA. After confirmation by Western blot 6.1% of the acute non-A, non-B, and non-C hepatitis patients had anti-HEV IgG antibodies only and 1.1% of the patients had both IgG and IgM. All 19 patients that were positive for anti-HEV IgG and/or IgM tested negative for HEV RNA by PCR. Only a small proportion of the acute hepatitis cases in the southwest of Hungary are assumed to be attributed to HEV infection, however, hepatitis E should be considered along with hepatitis A, B, and C in the diagnosis of acute hepatitis.