Hepatitis E Virus: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management

Abstract

The HEV is a known cause of water-borne outbreaks of acute non-A non-B hepatitis in developing countries, which affects young people and may result in high mortality in pregnant women. In recent decades, however, HEV genotypes 3 and 4 have been known as a cause of sporadic zoonotic infections in older males from swine HEV worldwide. Most acute HEV infections are self-limited. On the other hand, in immunosuppressed patients, including solid organ transplant recipients, chronic HEV infections may exist and progress to liver cirrhosis or decompensation. Therefore, physicians need to recognize HEV as a major pathogen for acute and chronic hepatitis of unknown causes and investigate this disease.