National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.
Virus Res. 2011 Oct;161(1):40-6. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2011.03.006. Epub 2011 Apr 2.
Hepatitis E was considered to be endemic infectious disease in developing countries in tropical or subtropical regions with poor sanitary conditions. Large, previously reported outbreaks were mainly due to contaminated water or heavy flooding. Prototype hepatitis E viruses of genotypes I and II were obtained from such endemic cases. In developed countries, in contrast, hepatitis E was rare and diagnosed only in travelers or imported cases. However, the development of accurate diagnostic tests, mainly PCR detection elucidated that autochthonous hepatitis E in developed countries is far more common than previously thought. Although the main route of transmission is food-borne, other routes including blood-borne have been suggested. Recent developments of gene-based diagnostic assays and molecular epidemiology have disclosed the significance of hepatitis E virus infection in developed countries.
戊型肝炎曾被认为是在卫生条件较差的热带或亚热带发展中国家流行的传染病。以前报道的大型暴发主要是由于水污染或严重洪水。从这些地方性病例中获得了基因型 I 和 II 的原型戊型肝炎病毒。相比之下，在发达国家，戊型肝炎很少见，仅在旅行者或输入性病例中诊断出来。然而，准确诊断检测方法的发展，主要是 PCR 检测，阐明了发达国家的本土戊型肝炎远比以前认为的更为常见。虽然主要传播途径是食源性的，但也有其他途径，包括血源途径。基于基因的诊断检测和分子流行病学的最新进展揭示了发达国家戊型肝炎病毒感染的重要性。
