TABLE 1.

Prevalence of anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgA among various groups of subjects

Group	No. of subjects studied	Age (yr) (mean ± SD)	No. (%) of subjects with:
			Anti-HEV IgGa	Anti-HEV IgM	Anti-HEV IgA	Both anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgA
Blood donors with normal ALT	675	39.0 ± 16.0	16 (2.4)	1 (0.1)	1 (0.1)	0
Patients with acute hepatitis	127	35.7 ± 12.4	11 (8.7)	4 (3.1)	2 (1.6)	0
Type A	57	35.1 ± 9.3	7 (12.3)	4 (7.0)	1 (1.8)	0
Type B	61	34.6 ± 12.9	3 (4.9)	0	1 (1.6)	0
Type C	9	47.6 ± 20.4	1 (11.1)	0	0	0
Patients with chronic liver diseases	274	55.0 ± 13.6	26 (9.5)	2 (0.7)	0	0
Chronic hepatitis	182	51.2 ± 13.4	15 (8.2)	1 (0.5)	0	0
Liver cirrhosis	57	62.9 ± 10.2	7 (12.3)	1 (1.8)	0	0
Hepatocellular carcinoma	35	61.7 ± 11.2	4 (11.4)	0	0	0
Hemodialysis patients	472	59.0 ± 12.4	60 (12.7)	2 (0.4)	0	0
Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis	147	59.7 ± 10.7	15 (10.2)	4 (2.7)	0	0
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis	186	63.8 ± 13.2	6 (3.2)	3 (1.6)	0	0
Hospital patientsb	900	58.5 ± 20.7	24 (2.7)	0	1 (0.1)	0
Total of control subjectsc	2,781	52.9 ± 18.9	158 (5.7)	16 (0.6)	4 (0.1)	0
Patients with hepatitis E	68	56.3 ± 12.8	68 (100)	68 (100)	68 (100)	68 (100)

^aPositivity for anti-HEV IgG was confirmed in all 226 samples by the absorption test (see Materials and Methods).

^bThey received a routine health examination or care for various disorders at one of our hospitals.

^cThey were assumed not to have been recently infected with HEV.