Risk of hepatitis "E" virus infection among some schistosomiasis patients in Egypt.

This study was carried out to demonstrate hepatitis "E" virus antibodies (IgG) among individuals living in different rural areas. The study included 200 individuals. One hundred were suffering from S. mansoni as confirmed by stool egg count, rectal snip, abdominal ultrasound and liver biopsy. The second hundred (Group II) were parasite-free individuals serving as normal control. The main symptoms of group I were dyspepsia, fatigue, dysentery, bleeding per rectum and hepatomegaly. There was no significant difference in the transaminase levels (SGPT and SGOT) between both groups. The prevalence of HEV-ab (ab (IgM) among group I was 31% and group II, 14% with a highly significant increase in group I. There was no correlation between the number of egg count in stools and HEV infectivity. Thus, the prevalence of HEV was higher in the rural areas and in schistosomiasis patients in particular, due to low sociohygienic conditions under which the patients are living. Also schistosomiasis may play a role in virus infection by altering the immune system.