Hepatitis E Virus

Abstract

Hepatitis E presents with the typical clinical and morphologic features of acute hepatitis. Discovered in 1990, hepatitis E virus (HEV) is now recognised as the agent responsible for nearly all enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis. Hepatitis E is principally the result of water borne infection and while large-scale outbreaks have been reported in several developing countries, sporadic cases can occur in developed countries where the seroprevalence is around 1%. Acute hepatitis E infection, like hepatitis A, is an acute, self-limiting infection that may vary in severity from subclinical (more likely in children) to fulminant hepatitis. The incubation period is approximately 40 days (range 15–60 days). The death rate of patients infected with HEV is <1%, however, the mortality from HEV in pregnant patients is high (around 20%) for reasons which remain unclear. The diagnosis of acute hepatitis E relies on serology and molecular testing for HEV RNA.