Hepatitis E Virus Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and associated risk factors in southwest, Nigeria

Hepatitis E is one of the most frequent causes of acute hepatitis worldwide, with an estimated 20 million infections and 70,000 deaths attributed to hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotypes 1 and 2 every year. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of HEV immunoglobulin M (IgM) in southwest (SW) Nigeria. Venous blood samples totalling 359 were collected from pregnant women on routine check, apparently healthy prospective blood donors and sick individuals presenting with fever and abdominal disturbance from health facilities in Ekiti, Lagos, Osun and Oyo states, of Nigeria. A structured questionnaire form was administered to gather socio-demographic data, health and travel history from each consenting participant. The screening for HEV IgM was done using HEV IgM ELISA kit. Statistical analyses, including descriptive analysis, correlations and binary logistic regression were carried out using SPSS version 21. In all, 131 samples (36.5%) tested positive for HEV IgM. Osun state had the highest occurrence of HEV IgM (n = 49; 13.6%,) while Ekiti had the least (n= 22; 6.1%). Apparently healthy participants with detectable HEV IgM were 52 (14.5%) while pregnant womenwere 51 (14.2%). Risk factors implicated in this study were flooding and injection drug use. The overall HEV prevalence reported in this study was higher than previous reports in Nigeria . Higher HEV prevalence in this study could be due to a larger coverage area in the country as well as detection of ongoing infection. The detection of HEV IgM in pregnant women and apparently healthy prospective blood donors indicated ongoing infection with risk of spread to susceptibles since HEV is neither routinely screened for among pregnant women nor among prospective blood donors. Keywords: Hepatitis E, IgM, Pregnancy, Apparently healthy, ELISA Depth, Geothermal Energy