Stable HEV IgG seroprevalence in Belgium between 2006 and 2014
Erwin Ho
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorJulie Schenk
Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and statistical Bioinformatics, Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
Centre for Health Economic Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorVeronik Hutse
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorVanessa Suin
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorAmber Litzroth
Scientific Directorate Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorStéphanie Blaizot
Centre for Health Economic Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorSereina A. Herzog
Centre for Health Economic Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorVera Verburgh
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorMarjorie Jacques
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorAbbas Rahman
Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorPeter Michielsen
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorPierre Van Damme
Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorSteven Van Gucht
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorHeidi Theeten
Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorNiel Hens
Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and statistical Bioinformatics, Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
Centre for Health Economic Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Thomas Vanwolleghem
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Correspondence
Thomas Vanwolleghem, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorErwin Ho
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorJulie Schenk
Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and statistical Bioinformatics, Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
Centre for Health Economic Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorVeronik Hutse
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorVanessa Suin
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorAmber Litzroth
Scientific Directorate Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorStéphanie Blaizot
Centre for Health Economic Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorSereina A. Herzog
Centre for Health Economic Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorVera Verburgh
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorMarjorie Jacques
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorAbbas Rahman
Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorPeter Michielsen
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorPierre Van Damme
Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorSteven Van Gucht
Scientific Directorate Infectious Diseases in Humans, National Reference Centre for Hepatitis Viruses, Sciensano, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorHeidi Theeten
Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorNiel Hens
Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and statistical Bioinformatics, Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
Centre for Health Economic Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Thomas Vanwolleghem
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium
Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Correspondence
Thomas Vanwolleghem, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Recent European studies suggest an emergence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. We evaluated trends in birth cohort-specific HEV seroprevalence and regional differences in Belgium. HEV IgG seroprevalence was analysed on national serum banks (1579 and 2087 samples for 2006 and 2014, respectively. Hepatitis E virus antigen was tested on positive samples. Observed data were modelled using a generalized additive model with a complementary log-log link. No significant differences between birth cohorts or sexes were found. Modelling identified the individual's age and province as relevant factors. The probability of HEV seropositivity increases significantly with age. An estimated total of 434 819 (yearly rate of 54,352) (sero-)infections were found between 2006 and 2014. Overall, HEV IgG seroprevalences were 4.1% (64/1579, 95% CI 3.1-5.1) and 5.8% (121/2087, CI 4.8-6.9) in 2006 and 2014, respectively. Observed HEV antigen seroprevalence was 0.027% (1/3666) for the entire cohort. These results show stable HEV IgG seroprevalence in Belgium.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors state no other conflict of interest.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
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| jvh13347-sup-0001-FigS1.tifTIFF image, 3.7 MB | Fig S1 |
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