Clinical and Epidemiological Features of Acute Sporadic Hepatitis E

Objective To study clinical and epidemilological features of acute sporadic hepatitis E.Methods Seven hundrud and twenty-nine sera of patients with acute sporadic hepatitis were collected form 6 cities of China,and detected for anti-HAV IgM,HBsAg,anti-HBc IgM,anti-HCV and anti-HEV by enzyme linked immunoassays.Results Of 729 patients with acute sporadic hepatitis tested,12.3%(90/729)were hepatitis E.sporadic hepatitis E cases of 93.3%(84/90) occurred in the 20-59 age group,with male predominance.The male to female ratio was 5B1.Eig htypercent(72/90)cases occurred from November to May.Fourty-seven point six percent(40/84)patients had meals in small restaur ants,and 32.1% (27/84)had a business trip and 22.6%(19/84)had drinking unboiled water within 2 months before onset of the disease.Of 84 sporadic hepatitis E patients followed up for 6 months,82(97.6%)were recovered and 2(2.4%)died.Conclusion Sporadic hepatitis E accounted for 12.3% of acute viral hepatitis cases.The major clinical and epidemiological feature of the diesae is similar to that of epidemic hepatitis E.