The Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a non-enveloped, single stranded RNA virus primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route, blood transfusion and possibly maternal-fetal. Infection with HEV causes acute sporadic and epidemic viral Hepatitis and induces acute or subclinical liver diseases similar to Hepatitis A. While there are four major genotypes of HEV, there is only one serotype. HEV infection in humans produces IgM, IgA and IgG antibodies. HEV-IgM and HEV- IgA positivity is a sign of acute or recent HEV infection. Whether anti-HEV-IgM and anti-HEV-IgA are positive for one or both, they are indicative of recent HEV infection. The presence of recent HEV infection, combined with liver function, can be used to determine whether the infection is acute or recent. The presence of HEV infection in the liver can be used to determine whether the disease is acute hepatitis E or recovery from acute hepatitis E.
