Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus in blood donors in Khuzestan Province, Southwest Iran

Objective: To determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection among volunteer blood donors in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Khuzestan is a war stricken area in the southwest of Iran, which shares a land, river, and sea border with Iraq. This region has suffered the heaviest public health system damage of all the Iranian provinces during a 25-year period of war and conflict. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 400 urban volunteer blood donors of the regional blood banks, fromMayto Decernber2005. Serum samples from healthy blood donors were tested for IgG anti-HEV antibody using a specific enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) kit. Results: The prevalence of HEV infection was found to be 11.5% (46/400). AR patients were negative for anti-HIV, anti-HBV, and anti-HCV antibodies. The data indicate that 14.6% (38/260) of HEV positive subjects were mate, compared to 5.7% (8/140) of females; this difference is statistically significant (risk ratio = 2.6, p < 0.008). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the high prevalence rate of anti-HEV among blood donors, particularly mates. (c) 2007 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.