Prevalence of hepatitis E virus among acute sporadic hepatitis patients in Suez

The objective of this study was to describe our experience with an enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) developed by us, and to clarify whether or not hepatitis E virus (HEV) is present in Egypt among patients with acute sporadic hepatitis. One hundred and forty patients with acute viral hepatitis consecutively admitted to the Fever Hospital of Suez were enrolled. Serum was tested for bilirubin, aminotransferases, and viral hepatitis markers, including anti-hepatitis A virus IgM, hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-hepatitis B core IgM, anti-hepatitis C virus, anti-cytomegalovirus IgM and anti-HEV IgG. Four patients (2.8%) showed positivity for anti-HEV alone. Also, there was association between anti-HEV and anti-hepatitis A virus IgM, anti-cytomegalovirus IgM, anti-hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B surface antigen in seven (5%), four (2.8%), two (1.4%), and one patient (0.7%), respectively. It was concluded that HEV is present in Egypt and it can occur endemically as sporadic cases, and that the ELISA used can detect acute hepatitis E infection as well as probable past infection.