Epidemiology of hepatitis E virus in male blood donors in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

To our knowledge, only a few epidemiological reports on the prevalence of hepatitis E antibodies in Saudi blood donors have been published. Men of several nationalities, donating blood at King Khalid National Guard Hospital (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) were selected (n = 593) for this study examining the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the local male donor population and testing the relationship of the antibody to HEV (anti-HEV) to donor characteristics using Odds Ratio (OR) and Chi-square statistic. The prevalence of anti-HEV in the group examined was 16.9 per cent (100/593). The seroprevalence for Saudi donors was 14.8 per cent compared with 33.3 per cent for non-Saudis of Middle Eastern origin. Donors who were 40 yr and over had significantly higher seroprevalence than those donors who were 30 yr or younger (OR = 2.5, p = 0.006). There was a significant association between anti-HEV and anti-HCV with donors who were positive to anti-HCV having about 5 times the risk of HEV than those who were anti-HCV negative (p = 0.02). These findings demonstrate the high seroprevalence rate of anti-HEV among male blood donors in Saudi Arabia.

Seroprevalence and incidence of hepatitis E virus among blood donors: A review

“…Indeed, HEV seroprevalence among non‐Saudis was 33.3% compared with 14.8% among Saudis. This could be due to the high number of expatriate workers from highly endemic areas such as Africa and East Asia . Similarly, a recent study conducted in Makkah (Saudi Arabia) showed that the seroprevalence of HEV was higher in non‐Saudis compared with Saudis .…”

“…The HEV outbreak resulted in 3,218 and 112 infected cases, respectively. Recent studies conducted in the MENA region indicate that countries with HEV seroprevalence values >25% are highly endemic . In the Arabian Gulf region, studies indicate that HEV is also endemic in the countries of this region due to the high wave of labor migration from endemic areas.…”

“…Only a handful of studies were conducted in the Arabian Gulf region. In a study conducted in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) in 1998, a total of 593 men from different countries were tested to determine HEV seroprevalence . One hundred (16.9%) participants tested positive for HEV antibodies.…”

“…Moreover, due to the ethnic diversity of the population in the Arabian Gulf region, where many expatriate workers come from highly HEV endemic areas such as Southeast Asia, Egypt, and Sudan, it is expected that HEV prevalence in these countries would be high . Indeed, 2 studies conducted in Saudi Arabia reported HEV seroprevalence to be around 18% . In Qatar, unpublished data suggest a higher HEV seroprevalence rate (~20%) among healthy individuals.…”

Hepatitis E virus: Molecular virology, clinical features, diagnosis, transmission, epidemiology, and prevention

“…In contrast, anti-HEV IgG is present in significant proportion among volunteer blood donors in endemic countries: 7.8% in Iran [Taremi et al, 2007]; 12.1% in Albania [Kondili et al, 2006]; 16.9% in Saudi Arabia [Abdelaal et al, 1998]; 43% in China ; and 45.2% in Egypt [Abdelhady et al, 1998]. Also, in certain geographic areas of the United States, it has been reported that the prevalence of anti-HEV IgG among volunteer blood donors varied from 18% to 21.3% Thomas et al, 1997;Meng et al, 2002].…”