High Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Seroprevalence and No Evidence of HEV Viraemia in Vietnamese Blood Donors

Abstract

The prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the Vietnamese population remains underestimated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the seroprevalence of HEV IgG/IgM antibodies and the presence of HEV RNA in blood donors as a part of epidemiological surveillance for transfusion-transmitted viruses. Serum samples from blood donors (n = 553) were analysed for markers of past (anti-HEV IgG) and recent/ongoing (anti-HEV IgM) HEV infections. In addition, all serum samples were subsequently tested for HEV RNA positivity. The overall prevalence of anti-HEV IgG was 26.8% (n = 148/553), while the seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgM was 0.5% (n = 3/553). Anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence in male and female donors was similar (27.1% and 25.5%, respectively). A higher risk of hepatitis E exposure was observed with increasing age. None of the blood donors were HEV RNA positive, and there was no evidence of HEV viraemia. Although the absence of HEV viraemia in blood donors from Northern Vietnam is encouraging, further epidemiological surveillance in other geographical regions is warranted to rule out transfusion-transmitted HEV.

Keywords: blood donors; hepatitis E virus; seroprevalence; transfusion.

Figure 1

Distribution of seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG and IgM based on sex (A) and age (B). Data are provided as percentages. No significant differences were observed between sex (p = 0.74) and age (p = 0.23).

Figure 2

Age-stratified distribution of anti-HEV IgG positivity among all blood donors. The data are provided as absolute numbers. The median age of blood donors was 34 years with an age range of 19–59 years (min.–max.). The majority of anti-HEV IgG-positive cases were between 27 and 40 years old, and this result is a characteristic of the general blood donor population.