Hepatitis E virus infection in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in an endemic area in Iran.

Ramezani, Amitis; Velayati, Ali Akbar; Khorami-Sarvestani, Sara; Eslamifar, Ali; Mohraz, Minoo; Banifazl, Mohammad; Bidari-Zerehpoosh, Farahnaz; Yaghmaei, Farhad; McFarland, Willi; Foroughi, Maryam; Keyvani, Hossein; Mostafavi, Ehsan; Aghakhani, Arezoo

Some studies have suggested that hepatitis E virus is more frequent in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients and can progress to chronic infection. We aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis E virus antibodies and RNA in a series of 100 HIV-infected patients in Tehran, Iran, with comparison to 52 healthy HIV, hepatitis B and C-negative blood donors as controls. HIV-infected patients were also tested for hepatitis E virus-RNA. Among the HIV-infected patients, 10% had antibodies to hepatitis E virus – a finding not significantly different from the uninfected controls (11.5%). No HIV-infected patients had hepatitis E virus IgM antibodies nor did any have detectable hepatitis E virus-RNA. We found no associations between anti-hepatitis E virus IgG-seropositivity and age, sex, route of HIV acquisition, aminotransferases levels, CD4, antiretroviral therapy, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus co-infection. Hepatitis E virus is relatively prevalent in our HIV-infected patients, although without evidence of chronic infection and no more common than among HIV-negative controls or the general population. For the present, we do not recommend routine screening for hepatitis E virus infection in HIV-infected patients in our moderately endemic region.

TEHRAN (Iran); HIV-positive persons; HEPATITIS E virus; IMMUNOGLOBULINS; RNA; DISEASES

International Journal of STD & AIDS, 2013, Vol 24, Issue 10, p769

0956-4624

Academic Journal

10.1177/0956462413484457