Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence and determinants in various study populations in the Netherlands

BackgroundThe epidemiology of hepatitis E virus (HEV) is not fully understood. In this study, we assessed putative risk factors for HEV seropositivity in various study populations in the Netherlands.MethodsData and samples from five different study populations were analysed: (A) blood donors (n = 5,239), (B) adults reporting a vegetarian life style since the age of 12 years (n = 231), (C) residents of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with different ethnic backgrounds (n = 1,198), (D) men who have sex with men (MSM) (HIV positive and HIV negative) (n = 197), and (E) persons who use drugs (PWUD) (HIV positive and HIV negative) (n = 200). Anti-HEV immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) testing was performed using ELISA test (Wantai).ResultsHEV IgM seroprevalence was low across all study populations (ConclusionsVegetarians were significantly less often HEV seropositive. Ethnic origin influenced the risk for being IgG HEV seropositive. MSM and PWUD were not at higher risk for being IgG HEV seropositive than blood donors.