Low prevalence of hepatitis E in Iceland: a seroepidemiological study

Objective: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection has been reported to be more prevalent in the developed countries than previously thought. HEV infection is an important differential diagnosis in patients with drug-induced liver injury (DILI). The prevalence of hepatitis E was investigated in the general population of Iceland, among pig farmers and patients with DILI.

Materials and methods: Serum samples were tested for hepatitis E IgG, with two commercial ELISA tests: Diagnostic Bioprobes Srl. (Dia Pro) and the Wantai HEV IgG and subjects repeatedly reactive were tested with an immunoblot assay (RecomLINE). Three groups were tested: (1) healthy volunteers (HV), (2) pig farm workers (PFWs) and (3) patients participating in a nationwide prospective study on DILI.

Results: Overall 291 individuals were tested, HV (n?=?195), PFW (n?=?21) and DILI (n?=?75). Only 6/291 (2.1%) tested positive for IgG antibodies to HEV in all three tests. Three HV were HEV IgG antibody positive and three in the DILI group. One PFW tested positive in the Dia Pro and Wantai tests but not in the immunoblot assay. All but one of the positive individuals in all three tests was either of foreign national origin or had spent extended period of time outside of Iceland.

Conclusions: The seroprevalence of hepatitis E appears to be lower in Iceland than majority of recent studies in other western countries have demonstrated. This may be due to relative isolation and severe restriction on import of livestock from other countries.