Introduction:

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a nonenveloped, RNA virus. HEV genotypes 3 and 4 are considered zoonosis transmitted by contaminated water and/or food. The presence of antibodies against this virus have not been described in communities inhabiting the “Coffee Axis” region of Colombia.

Objective:

To determine the prevalence of anti-Hepatitis E IgG in serum samples analyzed in a clinical laboratory from the Colombian Coffee Axis.

Materials and methods:

90 serum samples from patients treated at a clinical laboratory in the city of Armenia (Quindio) were analyzed and compared through three different methods that characterize antibodies.

Results:

The Mikrogen recomWell ELISA kit (IgG anti-HEV) identified two positive sera (2.2%). The Diapro HEV IgG ELISA (version ULTRA®) test registered a false positive sample (1.1%). The Mikrogen recom Line HVE western blot assay detected 4 positive samples (4.4%).

Conclusions:

Depending on the commercial kit used, the prevalence of anti-HEV IgG antibodies fluctuated between 0% to 4.4%, which demonstrates that the virus is circulating and that a possible infectious cycle in this region exists.

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