BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The risk of hepatitis E virus (HEV) to blood safety remains unknown in England. Reports of persistent HEV infection with serious disease sequelae indicate that transfusion transmitted HEV is not a trivial disease in immunosuppressed patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples from unselected blood donors and donors with a history of jaundice were tested for HEV antibody and RNA. RESULTS: Overall, 10% of the donor sera were anti-HEV IgG reactive. Four of the donor samples were anti-HEV IgM reactive but HEV RNA negative. CONCLUSION: There is evidence of probable recent HEV infections in donors with a predicted attack rate of 2.8%.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The risk of hepatitis E virus (HEV) to blood safety remains unknown in England. Reports of persistent HEV infection with serious disease sequelae indicate that transfusion transmitted HEV is not a trivial disease in immunosuppressed patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples from unselected blood donors and donors with a history of jaundice were tested for HEV antibody and RNA. RESULTS: Overall, 10% of the donor sera were anti-HEV IgG reactive. Four of the donor samples were anti-HEV IgM reactive but HEV RNA negative. CONCLUSION: There is evidence of probable recent HEV infections in donors with a predicted attack rate of 2.8%.
Authors: Harry R Dalton; Nassim Kamar; Jeroen J J van Eijk; Brendan N Mclean; Pascal Cintas; Richard P Bendall; Bart C Jacobs Journal: Nat Rev Neurol Date: 2015-12-29 Impact factor: 42.937
Authors: Carina Fischer; Martina Hofmann; Martin Danzer; Katja Hofer; Jennifer Kaar; Christian Gabriel Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-03-09 Impact factor: 3.240