sero-epidemiology and risk assessment of hepatitis e virus among blood donors in north lebanon

Background: hepatitis e virus (hev) is the causative agent of over 50% of acute viral hepatitis cases. the blood transfusion route has emerged as a possible route of transmission of hev. objectives: this study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of igm and igg anti-hev among blood donors in north lebanon and to assess the risk factors associated with its occurrence. methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted from november to december 2020. blood samples were collected from 78 healthy blood donors. a standardized questionnaire containing sociodemographic, food consumption, lifestyle, and health-related characteristics, was filled out to assess the risk factors of hev exposure. serum samples were tested for igm and igg anti-hev by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). results: the seroprevalence of igm and igg anti-hev antibodies was reported in our study, and it reached 1.09% (1/78) and 12.82% (10/78), respectively. the use of private wells as a drinking source and the travel history to endemic countries have been identified as risk factors for hev infections (p <0.05). conclusions: our data, support the implementation of hev antigen screening before blood donation, to reduce the risk of hev transmission via blood transfusion.