Hepatitis E Seroprevalence and Risk Factors in Humans and pig in Ghana

Abstract Background Although Hepatitis E has significant negative impact on the health and wellbeing of underprivileged populations, the burden of HEV in Ghana is still unclear, despite widespread conditions that predispose people to the risk of infection. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore rates of HEV exposure and active infection, as well as risk factors in humans and domestic pigs in Ghana. The study involved 1365 community members, 105 pig farmers and 474 domestic pigs from four administrative regions of Ghana. Results Results showed overall seroprevalence and actual prevalence of 12.4% and 0.7% in community members and 15.2% and 2.9% in pig farmers respectively. There was no significant difference in seroprevalence between the two groups (Z = 0.851; p = 0.395). However, the prevalence in pig farmers was significantly higher than in other community members (Z = 2.412; p = 0.016). Age (OR = 1.369, CI = 1.243 – 1.508; p = 0.0000), gender (OR = 1.419, CI = 1.101 – 1.991; p = 0.043), and the region of residence (OR = 1.569, CI = 1.348 – 1.827; p = 0.0000) were significant risk factors for HEV seroprevalence in a multivariate regression model.