Abstract
Recent studies indicate that hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection occurs not only in developing countries but also in industrialized nations. However, the characteristics of domestic infections of hepatitis E in Japan are not fully understood. We analyzed serum samples from 34 patients who were seen at a city hospital in Sendai, Japan, between January 1997 and December 2002, and who had been given the diagnosis of sporadic acute hepatitis of non-A, non-B, non-C etiology. Among these 34 patients, 3 (9%; all men; aged 54, 59, and 61 years) were positive for both IgG and IgM anti-HEV antibodies and for HEV RNA. The HEV isolates (HE-JAS1 and HE-JAS3) obtained from case 1 and case 3, respectively, segregated into genotype III; they had the highest nucleotide sequence identity, of 99.5% and 99.0%, with HE-JA7 and HE-JA8, respectively, both of which had been isolated in Iwate, a neighboring prefecture of Sendai. In contrast, the remaining HEV isolate (HE-JAS2), obtained from case 2, segregated into genotype IV; it had the highest nucleotide sequence identity, of 99.8% and 99.3%, with JKK-Sap and HE-JA3, respectively, both of which had been isolated in Hokkaido, Japan, although case 2 had never been to Hokkaido. Our three patients with hepatitis E had not traveled abroad in the preceding 1 year, had had no contact with pigs, and no history of blood transfusion. These results indicate that HEV should be considered as an etiological agent of acute hepatitis of non-A, non-B, non-C etiology in Japan. The risk factor(s) for acquiring domestic HEV infection in Japan needs to be clarified in future studies.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The nucleotide sequences of the 3 HEV isolates reported herein have been assigned DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank accession nos. AB107366-AB107368.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yamamoto, T., Suzuki, H., Toyota, T. et al. Three male patients with sporadic acute hepatitis E in Sendai, Japan, who were domestically infected with hepatitis E virus of genotype III or IV. J Gastroenterol 39, 292–298 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-003-1292-7
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-003-1292-7