To date, no studies comparing the prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection between the general and human immunodeficiency virus 2 (HIV-2) populations are available. With the purpose of filling this gap, this prevalence was assessed in the HIV-2 population from central Portugal. HEV seropositivity was 19.4%, which did not differ significantly from that found in the matched control population, and was not associated with CD4 cell count, HIV-2 viral load, and geographic origin or travel history to regions considered highly endemic for HEV. The results suggest that HIV-2 is not a risk factor for HEV infection, neither for an increased occurrence of chronic HEV infection.
Keywords: HEV; HIV-2; Portugal; Prevalence.
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.