Detection of antibodies to hepatitis E virus in patients with autoimmune chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis

Background: Viral hepatitis E (HEV) frequently causes epidemic outbreaks in many developing countries. It is also present in developed countries as imported cases. The role of hepatitis A virus as a trigger for autoimmune chronic hepatitis has been demonstrated, and it has been suggested that this may also apply to KEV. Methods: The presence of anti-HEV antibodies in serum samples from patients with autoimmune chronic active hepatitis (n = 52) and with primary biliary cirrhosis (n = 25) was investigated using an Abbott assay and a peptide-based test. Results: Anti-HEV antibodies were detected with the Abbott test in 13% (7 of 52) of the patients with autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, but none of these were positive in the synthetic peptide-based test. Conclusion: These findings indicate that KEV is not associated with primary biliary cirrhosis but may be implicated in some cases of autoimmune chronic active hepatitis.