Epidemiology of HEV Infection in Blood Donors in Southern Switzerland.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_096A486FDD95
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Epidemiology of HEV Infection in Blood Donors in Southern Switzerland.
Journal
Microorganisms
Author(s)
Fontana S., Ripellino P., Niederhauser C., Widmer N., Gowland P., Petrini O., Aprile M., Merlani G., Bihl F.
ISSN
2076-2607 (Print)
ISSN-L
2076-2607
Publication state
Published
Issued date
22/09/2023
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
11
Number
10
Pages
2375
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: epublish
Abstract
From 2014 to 2016, the number of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections in southern Switzerland increased dramatically and suggested food as a potential infection reservoir. We evaluated the effects of food control measures introduced to limit HEV infections, assessing anti-HEV IgG and IgM rates in blood donors before and after the implementation of food control measures in 2017. From 2012 to 2013, we screened 1283, and from 2017 to 2019, we screened 1447 donors for IgG and IgM antibodies. No statistically significant differences were detected for IgG (32.8% from 2012 to 2013 vs. 31.1% from 2017 to 2019, p = 0.337) or IgM rates (2.0% from 2012 to 2013 vs. 2.8% from 2017 to 2019, p = 0.21). Rural provenience and age > 66 are predictors for positive IgG serology. A total of 5.9% of 303 donors included in both groups lost IgG positivity. We also determined nucleic acid testing (NAT) rates after the introduction of this test in 2018, comparing 49,345 donation results from southern Switzerland with those of 625,559 Swiss donor controls, and only 9 NAT-positive donors were found from 2018 to 2023. The high HEV seroprevalence in southern Switzerland may depend on different food supply chains in rural and urban areas. Local preventive measures probably have a limited impact on blood HEV risk; thus, continuous NAT testing is recommended.
Keywords
NAT testing, blood donors, hepatitis E, seroprevalence, transfusion safety
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
06/11/2023 12:28
Last modification date
19/12/2023 8:15
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