Hepatitis E Update

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is estimated to be one of the commonest causes of acute hepatitis in the world. All patients with symptoms consistent with acute hepatitis should be tested for HEV. HEV was thought to be limited to certain developing countries until the last decade and was only ever seen in travellers of developed countries in returning from hyperendemic countries. We now know that HEV could be endemic in most high-income countries and is largely a zoonotic infection. European Association for the Study of the Liver suggests testing for hepatitis E in patients with unexplained flares of chronic liver disease. Particular risk groups for a severe HEV course are pregnant women infected with genotype 1 and older men or patients with underlying chronic diseases for genotype 3. Prevention is the most important point (safe water, avoiding undercooked meat, to be careful in highly endemic countries) to decrease the HEV infection.