Hepatitis E virus IgG seroprevalence in liver transplant patients: A retrospective single-center experience

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) may cause chronic liver disease in solid organ transplant recipients. We determined HEV seroprevalence and associated factors in liver transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients followed at the outpatient clinic of liver transplantation between January 2019 and January 2020 were screened retrospectively for HEV serology (HEV immunoglobulin M [IgM] and HEV immunoglobulin G [IgG]). RESULTS: Of the 150 patients (male/female, 104/46; age, 55.4±13.2 years), anti-HEV IgG was positive in 31 (20.7%), and anti-HEV IgM was negative in all. The mean time after liver transplantation (72 [48%] deceased and 78 [52%] living donors) was 81±78.5 months. Drinking water consisted of carboy and tap water in 88 (58.7%) and 62 patients (41.3%), respectively. Of the patients, 120 (80%) and 30 (20%) lived in urban and rural areas, respectively. On comparison, the difference between positive and negative anti-HEV IgG groups in terms of age, place of birth, water supply, and donor type was statistically significant (p=0.007, p=0.000, p=0.034, and p=0.049, respectively). CONCLUSION: HEV seroprevalence was more frequent in liver transplant recipients compared with the normal population. Older age, water supply, and place of birth were risk factors for HEV seroprevalence.