Unveiling the Truth About Hepatitis E and High Risk Groups

2. The Unique Characteristics of HEV

Researchers have identified four genotypes of hepatitis E that cause illness in humans, but each has different epidemiological and clinical characteristics and are unlike any other types of hepatitis. These differences vary between countries. Asia and Africa report large outbreaks of genotype 1 transmitted through water or poor sanitation. Medical researchers found sporadic genotype 2 infections in Mexico and West Africa. Refugee camps or overcrowded housing situations near natural disasters are at-risk locations for HEV. China, Taiwan, Japan, and Europe experience mostly food-borne genotype 4, but outbreaks do not usually occur. People contract genotype 3 from food and it occurs in isolated cases in developed countries.