Abstract:

Purpose: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a RNA virus found in the Hepeviridae family. HEV infection is clinically often asymptomatic in children and symptomatic in adults. Although infected animals can be infected by the consumption of well-cooked meat and blood transfusion, the main pathway of infection is the fecal-oral pathway. In patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis and sirosis, hepatitis E infection causes bad consequences such as acute inflammation, acute liver damage, decompensation and death. This study was aimed at showing HEV seropositivity and HEV RNA in patients with chronic hepatitis and sirosis. The study included 30 patients with autoimmune hepatitis, 30 sirosis and 40 chronic HBV. Serum samples obtained from these patients were studied with micro ELISA with anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG, RT-PCR with HEV RNA. In the autoimmune hepatitis group, 13% of anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG positivity was observed. In the sirosis group, 33% anti-HEV IgM and 50% anti-HEV IgG positivity were observed. In the chronic HBV group, 7.5% anti-HEV IgM and 17.5% anti-HEV IgG positivity were observed. No patients were diagnosed with HEV RNA. The result: in each of the three patients groups, seroprevalence studies from our country and the province were more frequently identified with HEV seropositivity. In patients with chronic hepatitis and sirosis clinical approaches, HEV infection should not be neglected and patients should be awarenessed of the consumption of clean drinking water and well cooked meat to prevent HEV infection.

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