Antibodies to hepatitis E and A viruses among patients with non-alcoholic chronic liver disease in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection in patients with non-alcoholic chronic liver disease (CLD) was assessed. METHODS Antibody levels to HEV (anti-HEV) and HAV (anti-HAV) were evaluated in 100 pairs of CLD patients and healthy controls. RESULTS The prevalence of anti-HEV was higher in patients (10.0%) than in controls (0%; p = 0.0001). There was no difference in anti-HAV positivity between patients (95%) and controls (93%). The patient group with anti-HEV was older (p = 0.024) and had more smokers (p = 0.03), having a higher prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (p = 0.02). Patients with anti-HAV were older than patients without (p = 0.0001). The prevalence of anti-HAV in patients more than 30 years old was higher than younger patients (95.1% versus 73.6%, p = 0.011). CONCLUSION HEV may superinfect on chronic liver disease in an area hyperendemic for hepatitis A and B.

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