Prevalence of Hepatitis E During Follow-up Liver and Kidney Transplant Patients in Guadeloupe, French West Indies

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) common cause acute hepatitis in transplant recipients but it may also be responsible of chronic liver disease. Actually there is not data about the prevalence of HEV Hepatitis in French West indies. In this study, we will aim to evaluate prevalence of HEV in patients with liver and kidney transplantation in Guadeloupe. Since 2000, we observe an increase of incidence in France. Hepatitis E is responsible for acute hepatitis, and it was previously believed that HEV cannot be developed to chronic hepatitis. However, more recent reports show that have shown that 6 to 15,6 % of kidney transplant patients are positive for anti-HEV IgG. In addition, studies have shown that HEV infection is commonly observed in patients with transplantation of solid organs such as kidney, pancreas and liver. Patients with organ transplantation are more susceptible to diseases caused by rare infectious viruses such as HEV ; thus, differential diagnosis of pathogens such as hepatitis E virus in transplant recipients is suggested to be applied according to the reports showing that there is a relatively rapid progression to cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis E in people who have had organ transplants. We estimate that 400 patients are followed in our center in Guadeloupe for kidney or liver tranplantation. In this study, we will aim to evaluate the prevalence of HEV in patients kidney and liver transplantation. We will perfom for each patient : HEV serology and HEV viral load by PCR.