Seroprevalence of hepatitis E in Nahavand, Islamic Republic of Iran: a population-based study

Abstract

A 2-month community-based survey in February/March of 2003 was carried out to study the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus [‎HEV]‎ infection in Nahavand, Islamic Republic of Iran. From each of 6 urban regions of Nahavand, 304 inhabitants >/= 6 years were recruited through systematic random sampling [‎total 1824]‎. Participants were tested for anti-HEV IgG using ELISA. The overall seroprevalence of HEV was 9.3% [‎95% CI: 8.2%-10.9%]‎. Based on multivariate adjustment, only sex [‎OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.13-2.28]‎ and age [‎OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04]‎ emerged as significant risk factors. This intermediate prevalence urges further investigations on HEV infection in the Islamic Republic of Iran