[Acute hepatitis E in Spain]

Abstract

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the worldwide leading cause of non-A non-B enterically transmitted hepatitis, and affects most commonly the population in developing countries. Cases outside this area, are nearly always imported, although apparent local acquisition has been occasionally reported. We assisted three patients with acute HEV hepatitis, confirmed by the presence of serum anti-HEV IgM. One of them did not report travelling outside of Spain in the previous years. HEV has to be included in the differential diagnosis of acute non-A non-B non-C hepatitis, even in cases in which an exposure in endemic areas cannot be recalled.