Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence and molecular study among blood donors in C hina

• Published in: Transfusion (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 54; no. 3pt2; pp. 910 - 917
• Main Authors: Ren, Furong, Zhao, Chenyan, Wang, Ling, Wang, Zhuoyan, Gong, Xiaoyan, Song, Meilan, Zhuang, Hui, Huang, Yi, Shan, Hua, Wang, Jingxing, Liu, Qiang, Ness, Paul, Nelson, Kenrad E., Wang, Youchun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.03.2014
• ISSN: 0041-1132; 1537-2995
• DOI: 10.1111/trf.12530

Background The risk of hepatitis E virus ( HEV ) infection from blood transfusion has aroused increasing concern in many countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the potential risk of HEV infection through blood transfusion in C hina. Study Design and Methods Qualified blood donations and donations with isolated alanine aminotransferase ( ALT ) elevations from five geographically diverse C hinese regions were tested for anti‐ HEV immunoglobulin ( Ig ) M and IgG and HEV antigen. The positive samples for anti‐ HEV IgM and HEV antigen were tested for HEV RNA . HEV open reading frame ( ORF )2 partial sequences were analyzed from HEV RNA –positive samples. Results The seroprevalence rates of HEV antigen and anti‐ HEV IgM and IgG among qualified donations were 0.06% (6/10,741), 1.02% (109/10,741), and 27.42% (2945/10,741), respectively. Samples with isolated ALT elevations had higher prevalence of HEV markers, namely, HEV antigen of 0.25% (2/797), anti‐ HEV IgM of 2.76% (22/797), and anti‐ HEV IgG of 40.02% (319/797). The HEV antibody prevalence varied significantly by age, sex, and geographic region. All 131 samples that were anti‐ HEV IgM positive were negative for HEV RNA , whereas four of eight (50%) samples positive for HEV antigen were HEV RNA positive. HEV ORF 2 sequences from three of four HEV RNA –positive samples were determined and grouped with G enotype 4. Conclusion Qualified donations after routine blood donor screening still carry potential risk for transmitting HEV . HEV antigen screening could be one measure to reduce the risk of HEV transmission by blood transfusion.