Is there evidence of recent hepatitis E virus infection in English and North Welsh blood donors?

Abstract

Background and objective: The risk of hepatitis E virus (HEV) to blood safety remains unknown in England. Reports of persistent HEV infection with serious disease sequelae indicate that transfusion transmitted HEV is not a trivial disease in immunosuppressed patients.

Materials and methods: Samples from unselected blood donors and donors with a history of jaundice were tested for HEV antibody and RNA.

Results: Overall, 10% of the donor sera were anti-HEV IgG reactive. Four of the donor samples were anti-HEV IgM reactive but HEV RNA negative.

Conclusion: There is evidence of probable recent HEV infections in donors with a predicted attack rate of 2.8%.