Sero-epidemiology and risk factors of Hepatitis E among pregnant women in Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in pregnant women is more severe, often leading to fulminates hepatic failure, death in mother, abortion and death of infants. The aim of this study was to determine the Sero-epidemiology and risk factors of anti-HEV IgG antibodies in pregnant women in East Azerbaijan of Iran because the prevalence in Iranian pregnant women is almost unclear. We performed a descriptive, Cross-Sectional study to determine the frequency of anti-HEV IgG antibodies was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on 321 pregnant women referred to Alzahra health centers of Tabriz for pursuing pregnancy. Only ten (3.1%) of 321 cases had positive results for anti-HEV IgG. Multivariate analysis of socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics of the pregnant women showed that HEV was associated with availability of potable water at home (p=0.007). The Seroprevalence anti-HEV IgG is low in the pregnant women; maybe it is related to the availability of potable water at home or high level of higen.