Hepatitis E virus infection in eastern India.

Most cases of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis in India have so far been attributed to hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. Most of the documented studies of hepatitis have focused on the incidence of this disease in northern, western, and south central India. A small seroprevalence study was conducted in the eastern Indian city of Patna to assess the degree of HEV infection among acute sporadic hepatitis cases. Forty-two percent (24 of 57) of the cases of acute sporadic hepatitis were positive for anti-HEV antibodies. Absence of any serologic markers of hepatitis A, B, or E in 58% (33 of 57) of the cases with symptoms of acute hepatitis suggest that there may be as yet unidentified enterically transmitted viruses in this area.