Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jan;145(1):181-186.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268816002144. Epub 2016 Sep 27.

Hepatitis E in Norway: seroprevalence in humans and swine

H Lange  1 , J Øverbø  2 , K Borgen  1 , S Dudman  2 , G Hoddevik  2 , A M Urdahl  3 , L Vold  1 , S K Sjurseth  3
Affiliations

Hepatitis E in Norway: seroprevalence in humans and swine

H Lange et al. Epidemiol Infect. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

In Norway, no published data on seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in humans and swine exists. Serum samples from blood donors, veterinarians, swine farm workers and swine were analysed by ELISA to estimate the seroprevalence of HEV in Norway and to investigate the association between direct contact with swine and HEV seroprevalence in humans. The seroprevalence of HEV IgG antibodies was 30% (24/79) in farm workers, 13% (21/163) in veterinarians, 14% (162/1200) in blood donors and 90% (137/153) in swine. Our results show a high seroprevalence of HEV in humans and swine in Norway. HEV seroprevalence in farm workers and blood donors increased with age, and veterinarians working with swine were twice as likely to be HEV seropositive compared to other veterinarians. High HEV seroprevalence in farm workers and veterinarians working with swine support previous reports suggesting swine as a reservoir for HEV infections in humans in Europe.

Keywords: Estimating; hepatitis E; prevalence of disease; serology; zoonoses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

References

    1. Zuckerman AJ. Hepatitis E virus. British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition) 1990; 300: 1475–1476. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kamar N, et al. Hepatitis E. Lancet 2012; 379: 2477–2488. - PubMed
    1. Kamar N, et al. Hepatitis E virus infection. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 2014; 27: 116–138. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Van der Poel WH. Food and environmental routes of Hepatitis E virus transmission. Current Opinion in Virology 2014; 4: 91–96. - PubMed
    1. Christensen PB, et al. Time trend of the prevalence of hepatitis E antibodies among farmers and blood donors: a potential zoonosis in Denmark. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2008; 47: 1026–1031. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources