TY - JOUR
T1 - Hepatitis E virus infection among solid organ transplant recipients at a North American transplant center
AU - Sue, Paul K.
AU - Pisanic, Nora
AU - Heaney, Christopher D.
AU - Forman, Michael
AU - Valsamakis, Alexandra
AU - Jackson, Annette
AU - Ticehurst, John R.
AU - Montgomery, Robert Avery
AU - Schwarz, Kathleen B.
AU - Nelson, Kenrad Edwin
AU - Karnsakul, Wikrom
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (training grant T32 AI052071).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - Background. Autochthonous hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection has been reported in over 200 solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients since 2006, yet little is known about the burden of HEV among SOT recipients in North America. We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with HEV infection among SOT recipients at our institution. Methods. Children and adults (n = 311) who received allografts between 1988 and 2012 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital were assessed for evidence of HEV infection by testing posttransplantation serum samples for HEV antibody by enzyme immunoassay and HEV RNA by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Individuals with evidence of posttransplant HEV infection (presence of anti-HEV immunoglobulin [Ig]M antibody, anti-HEV IgG seroconversion, or HEV RNA) were compared with individuals without evidence of infection and assessed for risk factors associated with infection. Results. Twelve individuals (4%) developed posttransplant HEV infection. Posttransplant HEV infection was associated with an increased risk for graft rejection (odds ratio, 14.2; P = .03). No individuals developed chronic infection. Conclusions. Solid organ transplant recipients in the United States are at risk for posttransplant HEV infection. Further studies are needed to characterize environmental risk factors and the risk of HEV infection after SOT in North America.
AB - Background. Autochthonous hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection has been reported in over 200 solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients since 2006, yet little is known about the burden of HEV among SOT recipients in North America. We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with HEV infection among SOT recipients at our institution. Methods. Children and adults (n = 311) who received allografts between 1988 and 2012 at the Johns Hopkins Hospital were assessed for evidence of HEV infection by testing posttransplantation serum samples for HEV antibody by enzyme immunoassay and HEV RNA by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Individuals with evidence of posttransplant HEV infection (presence of anti-HEV immunoglobulin [Ig]M antibody, anti-HEV IgG seroconversion, or HEV RNA) were compared with individuals without evidence of infection and assessed for risk factors associated with infection. Results. Twelve individuals (4%) developed posttransplant HEV infection. Posttransplant HEV infection was associated with an increased risk for graft rejection (odds ratio, 14.2; P = .03). No individuals developed chronic infection. Conclusions. Solid organ transplant recipients in the United States are at risk for posttransplant HEV infection. Further studies are needed to characterize environmental risk factors and the risk of HEV infection after SOT in North America.
KW - Hepatitis E virus
KW - Renal transplantation
KW - Solid organ transplantation
KW - Viral hepatitis
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U2 - 10.1093/ofid/ofw006
DO - 10.1093/ofid/ofw006
M3 - Article
C2 - 27014710
AN - SCOPUS:85000542449
VL - 3
JO - Open Forum Infectious Diseases
JF - Open Forum Infectious Diseases
SN - 2328-8957
IS - 1
M1 - ofw006
ER -