Investigation of Hepatitis E Virus Seroprevalence and Chronic Hepatitis E Infection in HIV-Positive Patients

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and chronic HEV infection in patients with confirmed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection.Materials and Methods: This prospective single-center study included a sample of 101 patients aged 18-84 years who were admitted to Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Hospital between May 2022 and December 2022 with a confirmed diagnosis of HIV-1 infection.From the blood samples collected for the study, anti-HEV immunoglobulin M (IgM) [HEV IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), DiaPro, Italy] and anti-HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) (HEV IgG ELISA, DiaPro, Italy) were evaluated using the microplate ELISA method.Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from plasma samples using a Qiagen virus kit (Qiagen EZ1 automated system, Germany).HEV-RNA was tested using an in-house reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for all samples included in the study.In addition, HIV-RNA, CD4+T cell count, hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg), anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV), antihepatitis A virus (HAV) IgG, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), total bilirubin (TBIL), and venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) parameters were obtained from the hospital automation system.Results: Anti-HEV IgG seropositivity was 3.96% (n=4).HEV-RNA was analyzed from all samples, but no HEV-RNA positivity was detected.There was no significant difference between the anti-HEV IgG (+) and anti-HEV IgG (-) group in terms of HIV-RNA level, CD4+T cell count, ALT, AST, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl ÖZ Amaç: Bu çalışmada, insan immün yetmezlik virüsü (HIV)-1 enfeksiyonu doğrulanmış hastalarda hepatit E virüsü (HEV) ve kronik HEV enfeksiyonunun seroprevalansının araştırılması amaçlandı.Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu prospektif ve tek merkezli çalışma,