Category Archives: Hepatitis E

CASE REPORTS PRESENTED IN THIS ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL represent the first documented cases of hepatitis E in Canada. Globally, the existence of enteric ally transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis has been recognized for many years and accounts for over 50% of acute hepatitis in developing nations. Usual somatotropic viruses were not found to cause this disease and the term viral hepatitis type E (hev) was coined. Although studies in nonhuman primates failed to yield a cultivable pathogen, electron microscopy of stool samples revealed the presence of viruslike particles.

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In summary, hev is a novel hepatotropic virus responsible for the majority of enterically spread non-A, non-B hepatitis in developing countries and represents a major health concern in these countries. hev plays a limited role in clinical liver disease in Canada and the United States and, except for sporadic cases, is unIikely to represent a major health threat in these counIries.

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Testing for hepatitis E exposure and active infection has improved substantially in recent years. Polymerase chain reaction (pcr) analysis for hev genomes in serum, stool and liver tissue has supplanted evaluation of the stool by electron microscopy as the definitive test for active infection. Unfortunately, the availability of this test is limited to research facilities. Serological tests for antibodies to recombinant hev proteins are available at specialized centers and are being used to clarify the epidemiological and clinical features of hev.

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