Prevalence of Antibodies Against Hepatitis E Virus in Veterinarians in Estonia

In this cross-sectional study, we investigated veterinarians in Estonia for evidence of exposure to hepatitis E virus (HEV). In 2012, we collected sera from 158 persons attending a veterinary conference, of whom 156 completed a questionnaire covering their background information. Altogether 115 persons reported they had obtained a veterinary degree and were included in this study. The sera were tested for presence of antibodies against HEV using a commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and a commercial immunoblot assay in series. A sample was considered antibody-positive if it tested positive with both tests. Antibody-positive samples were further examined for the presence of HEV RNA. Three (2.6%) of the 115 veterinarians tested positive for immunoglobulin G antibodies against HEV, whereas no immunoglobulin M antibodies against the virus were detected. The antibody-positive veterinarians were small animal practitioners. Pigs comprised no or small part of their working time or patients. No HEV RNA was detected in the antibody-positive samples. The prevalence of antibodies against HEV in veterinarians in Estonia was lower than what has been observed in veterinarians in other countries.