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
. 2020 Nov;27(11):1253-1260.
doi: 10.1111/jvh.13347. Epub 2020 Jul 12.

Stable HEV IgG seroprevalence in Belgium between 2006 and 2014

Erwin Ho  1   2 , Julie Schenk  3   4 , Veronik Hutse  5 , Vanessa Suin  5 , Amber Litzroth  6 , Stéphanie Blaizot  4 , Sereina A Herzog  4 , Vera Verburgh  5 , Marjorie Jacques  5 , Abbas Rahman  7 , Peter Michielsen  1   2 , Pierre Van Damme  7 , Steven Van Gucht  5 , Heidi Theeten  7 , Niel Hens  3   4 , Thomas Vanwolleghem  1   2
Affiliations

Stable HEV IgG seroprevalence in Belgium between 2006 and 2014

Erwin Ho et al. J Viral Hepat. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Recent European studies suggest an emergence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. We evaluated trends in birth cohort-specific HEV seroprevalence and regional differences in Belgium. HEV IgG seroprevalence was analysed on national serum banks (1579 and 2087 samples for 2006 and 2014, respectively. Hepatitis E virus antigen was tested on positive samples. Observed data were modelled using a generalized additive model with a complementary log-log link. No significant differences between birth cohorts or sexes were found. Modelling identified the individual's age and province as relevant factors. The probability of HEV seropositivity increases significantly with age. An estimated total of 434 819 (yearly rate of 54,352) (sero-)infections were found between 2006 and 2014. Overall, HEV IgG seroprevalences were 4.1% (64/1579, 95% CI 3.1-5.1) and 5.8% (121/2087, CI 4.8-6.9) in 2006 and 2014, respectively. Observed HEV antigen seroprevalence was 0.027% (1/3666) for the entire cohort. These results show stable HEV IgG seroprevalence in Belgium.

Keywords: Belgium; Europe; epidemiology; hepatitis E.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Kamar N, Selves J, Mansuy JM, et al. Hepatitis E virus and chronic hepatitis in organ-transplant recipients. N Engl J Med. 2008;358(8):811-817.
    1. van Eijk JJJ, Dalton HR, Ripellino P, et al. Clinical phenotype and outcome of hepatitis E virus-associated neuralgic amyotrophy. Neurology. 2017;89(9):909-917.
    1. Hogema BM, Molier M, Slot E, Zaaijer HL. Past and present of hepatitis E in the Netherlands. Transfusion. 2014;54(12):3092-3096.
    1. Ijaz S, Vyse AJ, Morgan D, Pebody RG, Tedder RS, Brown D. Indigenous hepatitis E virus infection in England: more common than it seems. J Clin Virol. 2009;44(4):272-276.
    1. Mansuy JM, Gallian P, Dimeglio C, et al. A nationwide survey of hepatitis E viral infection in French blood donors. Hepatology. 2016;63(4):1145-1154.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources