%0 Journal Article
%T Hepatitis E virus in the Kathmandu Valley: Insights from a representative longitudinal serosurvey.
%A Katuwal N
%A Thapa M
%A Shrestha S
%A Vaidya K
%A Bogoch II
%A Shrestha R
%A Andrews JR
%A Tamrakar D
%A Aiemjoy K
%J PLoS Negl Trop Dis
%V 18
%N 8
%D 2024 Aug 5
%M 39102451
暂无%R 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012375
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Hepatitis-E virus (HEV), an etiologic agent of acute inflammatory liver disease, is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in South Asia. HEV is considered endemic in Nepal; but data on population-level infection transmission is sparse.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>We conducted a longitudinal serosurvey in central Nepal to assess HEV exposure. At each visit, capillary blood samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of anti-HEV IgG antibodies. The study took place between February 2019 and April 2021, with up to 4 visits per participant approximately 6 months apart.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>We collected 2513 samples from 923 participants aged 0-25 years, finding a seroprevalence of 4.8% and a seroincidence rate of 10.9 per 1000 person-years. Young adults and individuals consuming surface water faced the highest incidence of infection. Geospatial analysis identified potential HEV clusters, suggesting a need for targeted interventions.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Our findings demonstrate that HEV is endemic in Nepal and that the risk of infection increases with age.