Hepatitis E Virus in Finland: Epidemiology and Risk in Blood Donors and in the General Population.

ABSTRACT: Autochthonous hepatitis E (HEV) cases have been increasingly recognized and reported in Europe, caused predominantly by the zoonotic HEV genotype 3. The clinical picture is highly variable, from asymptomatic to acute severe or prolonged hepatitis in immunocompromised patients. The main route of transmission to humans in Europe is the ingestion of undercooked pork meat. Transfusion-transmitted HEV infections have also been reported. The aim of the study was to determine the HEV epidemiology and risk in the Finnish blood donor population. A total of 23,137 samples from Finnish blood donors were screened for HEV RNA from individual samples and 1012 samples for HEV antibodies. Additionally, laboratory-confirmed hepatitis E cases in 2016-2022 were extracted from national surveillance data. The

SUBMITTER: Matto J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10054892 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature