Sporadic cases of acute autochthonous hepatitis E virus infection in Southwest Germany
Hepatitis E infection is usually a self-limiting disease and an important cause of acute hepatitis in tropical and subtropical regions where the virus is endemic. In industrialized countries, sporadic cases of acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections have been described and the number of documented...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2010
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| In: |
Clinical and diagnostic virology
Year: 2010, Volume: 47, Issue: 1, Pages: 89-92 |
| ISSN: | 1873-4901 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jcv.2009.10.011 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2009.10.011 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386653209005010 
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| Author Notes: | S. Brost, J.J. Wenzel, T.M. Ganten, M. Filser, C. Flechtenmacher, S. Boehm, A. Astani, W. Jilg, M. Zeier, P. Schnitzler |
| Summary: | Hepatitis E infection is usually a self-limiting disease and an important cause of acute hepatitis in tropical and subtropical regions where the virus is endemic. In industrialized countries, sporadic cases of acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections have been described and the number of documented autochthonous infections seems to be increasing. We report three sporadic cases of autochthonous hepatitis E infections in Southwestern Germany which presented at our university hospital within two years. All cases were men who presented with acute hepatitis, icterus and elevated liver. In case 1 and case 2, liver biopsy revealed acute hepatitis, both patients were positive for anti-HEV antibodies, case 1 was also positive for HEV RNA with a viral load of 3.0×103copies/ml in serum. In case 3, anti-HEV antibodies were detectable and HEV RNA was detected in serum (4.3×103copies/ml) and stool (1.4×106copies/ml). None of the patients had a recent travel history outside Germany and close contact to animals has been denied. HEV sequence analysis of two patients revealed genotype 3 with homologies to other European isolates and isolates from swine. Thus the source of infection remains unclear. Hepatitis E should be considered in differential diagnosis in patients with unexplained hepatitis and patients with acute hepatitis, whatever their age or travel history might be, should be tested for HEV. |
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| Item Description: | Erstmals am 11. November 2009 online veröffentlicht Gesehen am 01.03.2023 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1873-4901 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jcv.2009.10.011 |