Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus infection among pregnant women in Ilam, west of Iran.

INTRODUCTION Hepatitis E infection is commonly known as acute and self-limiting hepatitis and therefore less at-tention is paid to it, whereas hepatitis E virus is a major cause of fulminant hepatitis in pregnant women and its infection during pregnancy is associated with maternal and fetal mortality. The prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies in pregnant women in Ilam city is unknown, the aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of anti- HEV total and anti-HEV IgM antibodies among pregnant women in this area. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 420 serum samples were collected between March 2018 and September 2019 from preg-nant women, with a mean age of 29.61 years ranging from 19 to 47 years, referred to Ilam health centers, west of Iran. De-mographic data including age and place of residence were collected from patient records. The titers of anti-HEV total and anti-HEV IgM antibodies were measured by ELISA method. The association between the prevalence of hepatitis E antibody and age and place of residence variables was evaluated by chi-square test. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS In total, 18 of the 420 participants (4.3%) were positive for anti-HEV total, while 2 (0/47%) tested positive for anti-HEV immunoglobulins M (IgM). Anti-HEV status had no statistically significant association with age and place of resi-dence. CONCLUSION The seroprevalence rate of HEV infection among pregnant women in Ilam city is relatively low. Considering that seronegative pregnant women is at risk for acquiring HEV, it is recommended that pregnant women be educated to avoid sources of HEV infection.