What Is Hepatitis E?

Hepatitis E is an acute infectious disease transmitted through the mouth of feces. Since the first outbreak of hepatitis E in India due to water pollution in 1955, it has been circulating in India, Nepal, Sudan, Soviet Kyrgyzstan, and Xinjiang in China.

Hepatitis E virus

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an unencapsulated spherical particle. HEV is divided into 8 genotypes ranging from 1 to 8. The prevalent strains in mainland China are mainly type 1 (formerly known as Myanmar strain), followed by type 4. At present, HEV cannot be used for cell culture, and it can be laboratory infected with many monkeys such as macaques. HEV is not resistant to the external environment.

Pathogenic

Hepatitis E transmission (mainly via fecal-oral route) and clinical manifestations (recessive infection and acute hepatitis, non-chronic hepatitis, etc.) are similar to hepatitis A. Hepatitis E is high in young people and adults aged 15 to 39 years. Hepatitis E is also a self-limiting disease. HEV has no direct pathological effect (CPE) on liver cells. The body can obtain certain immunity after illness, but it is not stable enough. At present, there is no hepatitis E vaccine, and prevention of hepatitis E is mainly based on cutting off the fecal-oral route.

Detection of serum anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG: EIA detection. Serum anti-HEV IgG was detected 7 days after the onset of disease, which is one of the characteristics of HEV infection;

Detection of HEV RNA in serum and feces: Early-stage specimens are usually collected and collected using RT-PCR.

HEV is excreted with the patient's feces and passes through daily life

Hepatitis E was originally known as intestinal-transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis, and the diagnosis was confirmed only after hepatitis E virus (HEV) was isolated in the late 1980s. Its epidemiological and clinical characteristics are quite similar to those of hepatitis A, and it is not easy to distinguish the two diseases clinically. The epidemic area of the disease is widespread, mainly in some developing countries and regions in the Indian subcontinent, Africa and South America.

Hepatitis E is one of the major hepatitis in developing countries today, which seriously harms human health. In recent years, the incidence has increased rapidly. The Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases enacted in China has listed hepatitis E as one of the major hepatitis. In recent years, the absolute number and incidence have shown a continuous and rapid increase.