Seroprevalence of Anti-Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) IgG in Southeastern Germany and Comparison of Three Commercial Anti-HEV IgG Tests

Introduction: The incidence of autochthonous hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection and the resulting seroprevalence in Germany are unknown. Previous studies in developed countries reported Anti-HEV IgG seroprevalences of up to 30% in the general population. In this study we compared the results obtained with three commercially available Anti-HEV assays when applied to serum of individuals from the general population and to serum of patients with acute HEV infection in Germany. Methods: The three commercially available Anti-HEV assays evaluated were: (i) the MP Diagnostics HEV ELISA (IgG), (ii) the Axiom Diagnostic H…