Hepatitis E

Hepatitis E is inflammation of the liver caused by infection with the hepatitis E virus, one of five known human hepatitis viruses (A, B, C, D and E). Its transmission route is mainly fecal-oral, similar to hepatitis A although the viruses are unrelated. Like hepatitis A it usually follows an acute and self-limiting course with low death rates in resource-rich areas, but it can be more severe in pregnant women, especially in the third trimester, where fulminant liver failure carries death rates around 20 percent. Organ transplant recipients who take medication to weaken the immune system can develop a slower and more persistent chronic form, diagnosed after three months of continuous viremia. In 2017 hepatitis E was estimated to affect more than 19 million people.