OBJECTIVES: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has recently become endemic in Europe, however, it is often a remnant neglected by clinicians as the causative agent of acute and chronic hepatitis and is often misdiagnosed as a drug-induced liver injury. The infection rate in European pig farms is estimated to be around 15-20%, therefore, the primary source of HEV infections might be poorly prepared pork meat. As HEV infections may occur more often in clinical practice than previously thought, the present paper aims to analyse the seroprevalence of HEV in patients with acute hepatitis over a period of 14 years in Csongrád County, Hungary. METHODS: The sera of 4,270 hepatitis patients collected between 2004-2018 were tested for cumulative anti-HEV IgG/IgM. Furthermore, 170 IgM positive sera were tested for the presence of viral RNA by RT-qPCR. RESULTS: Between 2012-2018, the cumulative seroprevalence has increased 9.18 times, and between 2013-2018, IgM prevalence has increased 12.49 times. Viral RNA was detectable in 12.35% of IgM positive sera. CONCLUSION: The present paper presents data showing that the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus has increased markedly over the course of the last decade in Hungary and in other European countries as well. The exact reason behind this phenomenon is yet to be determined. To assess the dynamics and the reason for this increase in prevalence, pan-European, multicentre studies should be conducted.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunobiology Faculty of Medicine University of Szeged Szeged Hungary

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest Hungary

Faculty of Medicine Semmelweis University Budapest Hungary

Infection Control Department Clinical Centre Semmelweis University Budapest Hungary

Institute for Veterinary Medical Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest Hungary

Military Medical Centre of Hungarian Defence Forces Budapest Hungary

Public Health and Food Chain Safety Service of Government Office for Csongrad County Szeged Hungary

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