Evaluation of Enteric Transmitted Hepatitis A Virus and Hepatitis E Virus Prevalence in Hormozgan, Southern Iran During Jan, 2016 – Apr, 2017

Enteric transmitted hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) are responsible for major cases of acute viral hepatitis globally. Both infections may be accompanied by morbidity and even mortality in their outbreaks. They usually cause self-limited infections with an exemption for HEV that may establish a prolonged infection, especially in immunocompromised patients. We conducted this study to evaluate seroprevalence of HAV and HEV in Hormozgan province to better understand their distributions in the general population.

The total antibodies against HAV, IgG and IgM antibodies against HEV were evaluated by commercially available Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) kits in serum sample of 562 females and males between 1 to 86 years old gathered from June 2016 to April 2017 from four major counties of the province.

Out of 562 tested participants, 398 of them were female. The mean age of the 562 tested individuals was 35.74 ± 17.06 years (range: 1-86 years). Total anti-HAV antibodies were detected in 524 (93.2%) of individuals and 89 (15.8%) of them had detectable IgG against HEV, while 9 (1.6%) of subjects had anti-HEV IgM, too. Seropositivity rate of HAV and HEV was correlated with increasing age.

As the results revealed, both viruses were endemic to the study area and the prevalence of HAV was practically high and the rate of HEV was considerable when compared with the rate in other parts of Iran.