Microorganisms, Vol. 13, Pages 2290: Hepatitis E Virus Infection in a Hospital from Southern Romania—New Data About a Threat to Public Health

Greenberg October 1, 2025 in News - 2 Minutes

Microorganisms, Vol. 13, Pages 2290: Hepatitis E Virus Infection in a Hospital from Southern Romania—New Data About a Threat to Public Health

Microorganisms doi: 10.3390/microorganisms13102290

Authors:
Cristina Popescu
Alexandra Cireșă
Gabriel Adrian Popescu
Carmen Cristina Vasile
Leontina Mirela Bănică
Dragoș Florea

This study analyses all cases of acute hepatitis E diagnosed in a southern Romanian hospital from 2019 to 2023. Patients with positive anti-HEV IgM antibodies were included in three groups: group A1&mdash;96 patients with probable HEV infection and ALT levels over 2.5-fold the upper limit of normal (ULN); group A2&mdash;44 patients with probable HEV infection and ALT levels under 2.5-fold ULN; group B&mdash;43 patients with probable HEV coinfection with another hepatotropic virus. Between 2019 and 2023, 642 patients were diagnosed with acute viral hepatitis. Positive anti-HEV IgM antibodies were detected in 183 (28.5%) cases, HEV being the second most common cause of acute viral hepatitis. Patients from group A were older than those from group B (47.26 &plusmn; 15.13 years vs. 35.95 &plusmn; 14.83 years, p &lt; 0.01). Patients from group A were less likely to present clinical features compared to those from group B: digestive symptoms (73.8% vs. 97.2%, p &lt; 0.01), jaundice (38.9% vs. 88.4%, p &lt; 0.01), hepatomegaly (64.1% vs. 88.6%, p = 0.02). Patients from group A, compared to patients from group B, had lower levels of ALT (18.2 &plusmn; 29.9 ULN vs. 83.7 &plusmn; 56.2 ULN, p &lt; 0.01) and total bilirubin (3.08 &plusmn; 5.2 mg/dL vs. 7.82 &plusmn; 5.25 mg/dL, p &lt; 0.01) at admission. Patients from group A had higher levels of anti-HEV IgM antibodies (4.3 &plusmn; 3.22 vs. 2.55 &plusmn; 1.34, p &lt; 0.01) than those from group B. Nearly all patients had no history of travel; therefore, autochthonous origin of HEV is involved in a large majority of cases. Currently, hepatitis E virus is not an uncommon aetiology of acute hepatitis in Romania, more often in adults and elderly patients. The epidemiological and clinical features of HEV infections plead for a zoonotic transmission in most cases. The significant number of cases of hepatitis E diagnosed in a single centre in Bucharest justifies the need to include early testing for HEV in patients with acute hepatitis.

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Cristina Popescu www.mdpi.com