Yoshida Yuichi, Ito Asami, Eto Hisashi, Suzuki Akiko, Abe Tamami, Endo Kei, Kakisaka Keisuke, Oikawa Takayoshi, Kuroda Hidekatsu, Miyasaka Akio, Matsumoto Takayuki, Takahashi Masaharu, Okamoto Hiroaki
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Yahaba, Japan.
Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Japan.
Hepatol Res. 2024 Jan;54(1):24-31. doi: 10.1111/hepr.13961. Epub 2023 Sep 7.
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes subclinical or acute self-limiting hepatitis. We surveyed the current seroprevalence and incidence of HEV infection among the general population in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, where the endemic infection is presumed to be low.
Between 2014 and 2016, we recruited individuals from Iwate Prefecture, Japan, who visited a general medical work-up program. Serum anti-HEV antibody and HEV RNA were measured twice, with an interval of 2 years. Anti-HEV antibody was measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and HEV RNA with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
Study participants comprised 1284 Japanese (650 men and 634 women) with age ranging 20-89 years. A total of 90 participants were found to be positive for anti-HEV immunoglobulin G on the first visit, with a prevalence of 7.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.6%-8.4%). Seroprevalence was higher in men than in women (10.1% vs. 3.7%, p < 0.001), and in those aged in their 50s-80s than in those aged in their 20s-40s (p = 0.006). Positive seroconversion indicating new HEV infection was found in seven of 1194 seronegative participants (0.59%; 95% CI 0.15%-1.0%), indicating the incidence of HEV infection to be 272 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 109-561).
Our observations suggest that the incidence of HEV infection is high and that it is a leading cause of hepatitis virus infection in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）可引起亚临床或急性自限性肝炎。我们对日本岩手县普通人群中HEV感染的当前血清流行率和发病率进行了调查，据推测该地区的地方性感染率较低。
2014年至2016年期间，我们招募了来自日本岩手县参加普通体检项目的人员。血清抗HEV抗体和HEV RNA检测两次，间隔2年。抗HEV抗体采用酶联免疫吸附测定法检测，HEV RNA采用逆转录-聚合酶链反应检测。
研究参与者包括1284名日本人（650名男性和634名女性），年龄在20-89岁之间。首次就诊时共有90名参与者抗HEV免疫球蛋白G呈阳性，流行率为7.0%（95%置信区间[CI]5.6%-8.4%）。男性血清流行率高于女性（10.1%对3.7%，p<0.001），50多岁至80多岁人群的血清流行率高于20多岁至40多岁人群（p=0.006）。在1194名血清阴性参与者中有7人出现了表明新的HEV感染的血清阳转（0.59%；95%CI 0.15%-1.0%），表明HEV感染发病率为每10万人年272例（95%CI 109-561）。
我们的观察结果表明，HEV感染发病率较高，且是日本岩手县肝炎病毒感染的主要原因。
