Detection of HEV RNA in Feces of Patients with Hepatitis E by Polymerase Chain Reaction

A reverse transcription-nested polym erase chain reaction(RT-nPCR)as say was used for the detection of HEV RNA in 91 fecal specmiens collected from 26 hospitalized patients with sporadic hepatitis E.The patterns of virus shedding in feces were compared with viremia of HEV,as well as the dynamics of serum ALT levels.The results revealed that 11 of 26(42.3%)patients showed HEV RNA in feces,compared with 53.3% in serum.The positive rate of HEV RNA in fecal specmiens was 75%(3/4)with in 5 days of illness,and declined dramatically with the course of the disease in consistence with the levels of serum ALT.Only 5 of 26(19.2%)fecal specmiens obtained from 16 to 20 days of illness were HEV RNA positive,1 of which persisted shedding up to the 23rd day after onset of the disease.It suggest that excretion of virus in stools of patients with hepatitis E happens during early acute phase of the disease,and the clinical isolation period of three weeks after onset of illness may be reliable.