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
Review
. 2019 Apr 1;9(4):a033431.
doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a033431.

Epidemiology and Transmission of Hepatitis A Virus and Hepatitis E Virus Infections in the United States

Megan G Hofmeister  1   2 , Monique A Foster  1 , Eyasu H Teshale  1
Affiliations
Review

Epidemiology and Transmission of Hepatitis A Virus and Hepatitis E Virus Infections in the United States

Megan G Hofmeister et al. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. .

Abstract

There are many similarities in the epidemiology and transmission of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype (gt)3 infections in the United States. Both viruses are enterically transmitted, although specific routes of transmission are more clearly established for HAV than for HEV: HAV is restricted to humans and primarily spread through the fecal-oral route, while HEV is zoonotic with poorly understood modes of transmission in the United States. New cases of HAV infection have decreased dramatically in the United States since infant vaccination was recommended in 1996. In recent years, however, outbreaks have occurred among an increasingly susceptible adult population. Although HEV is the most common cause of acute viral hepatitis in developing countries, it is rarely diagnosed in the United States.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Incidence of hepatitis A in the United States. (A) Cases of acute hepatitis A per 100,000 population reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, United States, 1966–2013. (Panel from Murphy et al. 2016; reproduced courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention © 2016.) (B) Incidence of hepatitis A virus by age group—United States, 2000–2015. (Source: CDC, National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, 2015.)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Annual average incidence of reported cases of acute hepatitis A in the United States by county, pre-vaccine (1987–1997) and post-vaccine (2007) introduction. (From Murphy et al. 2016; reproduced courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2016.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aderinto-Adike A, Schwartz MR, Monsour HP Jr. 2014. Acute hepatitis E in the US today occurs in diverse patient populations: Case reports. Gastroenterology Res 7: 69–72. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amon JJ, Devasia R, Xia G, Nainan OV, Hall S, Lawson B, Wolthuis JS, Macdonald PD, Shepard CW, Williams IT, et al. 2005. Molecular epidemiology of foodborne hepatitis A outbreaks in the United States, 2003. J Infect Dis 192:1323–1330. - PubMed
    1. Amon JJ, Drobeniuc J, Bower WA, Magaña JC, Escobedo MA, Williams IT, Bell BP, Armstrong GL. 2006. Locally acquired hepatitis E virus infection, El Paso, Texas. J Med Virol 78: 741–746. - PubMed
    1. Ankcorn MJ, Tedder RS. 2017. Hepatitis E: The current state of play. Transfus Med 27: 84–95. - PubMed
    1. Azimi PH, Roberto RR, Guralnik J, Livermore T, Hoag S, Hagens S, Lugo N. 1986. Transfusion-acquired hepatitis A in a premature infant with secondary nosocomial spread in an intensive care nursery. Am J Dis Child 140: 23–27. - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances