Description
Hepatitis E Virus or HEV is a recently discovered agent of enterically transmitted viral hepatitis. HEV is an unenveloped single-strand RNA virus structurally similar to Calicivirus and is found in the stool of infected patients.
HEV is a serious problem in many developing countries and its first outbreak was reported in 1955 in New Delhi, India. Hepatitis E has never been associated with chronic infection; however a high case-fatality rate has been found among pregnant women.
The cloning and sequencing of HEV genome have lead to the development of serological tests for the detection of anti HEV antibodies.
These tests are based on synthetic immunodominant antigens derived from conservative regions of the virus.
