Hepatitis E virus infections in HIV-infected patients in Ghana and Cameroon

a b s t r a c t Background: Chronic hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections have recently been described in HIV-infected patients. Only few data are available for sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV and HEV are highly co-endemic, and where liver pathology is common in HIV-infected individuals. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of HEV viremia, anti-HEV antibodies, and serum aminotransferase levels in HIV patients in Ghana and Cameroon. Study design: We retrospectively surveyed a cross-section of patients who were enrolled in cohort studies in Ghana (West Africa), and Cameroon (Central Africa). Plasma samples from 1029 HIV patients from Ghana and 515 patients from Cameroon including 214 children were analyzed for HEV-RNA by two reverse transcription PCR methods. In a subset of 791 patients, anti-HEV IgG and IgM antibodies were