Hepatitis E risks: pigs or blood-that is the question

摘要

BACKGROUND: Infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) Genotype 3 is recognized as a food-borne zoonosis in developed countries where it usually causes a mild selflimited acute hepatitis. It may cause a persistent infection in the immunosuppressed human that can progress to cirrhosis. To protect the patient from transfusion-acquired HEV infection, steps have been taken in the United Kingdom to provide for at-risk patients only components from donors screened for HEV viremia. This strategy does not protect from dietary exposure and calls into question estimation of relative risk between blood transfusion and diet.