Hepatitis E virus prevalence among HIV-2 infected individuals in central Portugal

• Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases 2024-12, Vol.43 (12), p.2473-2476
• Main Authors: Pereira-Vaz, João, Carmo, Anália, Duque, Vítor, Luxo, Cristina, Alves, Ana, Mendes, Alexandra, Morais, Célia, Gaspar, Cláudio, Costa, Raquel, Correia, Lurdes, Rodrigues, Fernando, Matos, Ana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brief Report; CD4 antigen; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Chronic infection; Coinfection - epidemiology; Coinfection - virology; Female; Hepatitis; Hepatitis Antibodies - blood; Hepatitis E - epidemiology; Hepatitis E virus - immunology; HIV; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - virology; HIV-2; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Internal Medicine; Laboratories; Liver; Male; Medical Microbiology; Middle Aged; Missing data; Pharmacy; Portugal - epidemiology; Prevalence; Protozoa; Risk Factors; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Variables; Viral Load; Viruses
• ISSN: 0934-9723; 1435-4373; 1435-4373
• DOI: 10.1007/s10096-024-04959-9

To date, no studies comparing the prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection between the general and human immunodeficiency virus 2 (HIV-2) populations are available. With the purpose of filling this gap, this prevalence was assessed in the HIV-2 population from central Portugal. HEV seropositivity was 19.4%, which did not differ significantly from that found in the matched control population, and was not associated with CD4 cell count, HIV-2 viral load, and geographic origin or travel history to regions considered highly endemic for HEV. The results suggest that HIV-2 is not a risk factor for HEV infection, neither for an increased occurrence of chronic HEV infection.