25 Jul
The conventional diagnosis of hepatitis E virus (HEV) outbreaks rests on the detection of anti-HEV IgM antibodies. However, IgM antibodies develop after 4-5
days of infection. An early-diagnostic marker is imperative for timely diagnosis of the outbreak and also initiation of control measures. In hospital settings, HEV antigen is an early diagnostic marker of acute infection.
Though detection of HEV RNA by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) is the gold standard for demonstration of active viremia, HEV antigen assay can be used as an additional diagnostic marker to confirm active viral replication in serologically positive samples.