Hepatitis E Virus Seroprevalence among Adults, Germany

Mirko S. Faber¹

, Jürgen J. Wenzel¹, Wolfgang Jilg, Michael Thamm, Michael Höhle, and Klaus Stark

Author affiliations: Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (M.S. Faber, M. Thamm, M. Höhle, K. Stark); and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany (J.J. Wenzel, W. Jilg)

Abstract

We assessed hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibody seroprevalence in a sample of the adult population in Germany. Overall HEV IgG prevalence was 16.8% (95% CI 15.6%–17.9%) and increased with age, leveling off at >60 years of age. HEV is endemic in Germany, and the lifetime risk for exposure is high.

In industrialized countries, hepatitis E virus (HEV) has long been regarded as a rare imported infection. However, sporadic cases without travel to disease-endemic areas and caused by genotype 3 are being increasingly reported (1,2). Epidemiologic and molecular studies have implicated undercooked pork and wild boar products as a source of HEV infection (3–5). An unexpectedly high prevalence of HEV-specific antibodies, e.g., among blood donors, has been shown by several studies in Europe and the United States (6–11).
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