Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence in haemodialysis patients in Zanjan province, Islamic Republic of Iran

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is the most common form of acute hepatitis in adults in endemic regions of Asia. In a descriptive, cross-sectional study, anti-HEV antibody was measured in patients referred to the 2 haemodialysis centres in Zanjan city, Islamic Republic of Iran. Among 93 patients with chronic renal failure, mean age 57.0 (SD 18.5) years, antibodies against HEV were positive in 25 (26.9%) patients. HEV infection was not significantly associated with sex, age, educational level, residence or water source. The rate of HEV positivity was higher in patients with >1 than <= 1 year of haemodialysis (31.3% versus 15.4%) but this was not statistically significant. None of the patients had chronic hepatitis C or HIV infection, and only 2 were suffering from chronic hepatitis B infection. Given the high prevalence of HEV in haemodialysis patients in Zanjan, more attention is needed towards HEV epidemiology, control, prevention and training in the west of the Islamic Republic of Iran and possibly neighbouring countries.