Is there a need to register hepatitis E in Ukraine?
Objective. To study some manifestations of the epidemic process of hepatitis E in Ukraine and consider the need to introduce nosology into the national register of infectious diseases.Materials and methods. The materials for this analytical study were the reports of the Odessa Regional Laboratory Center "Virology Laboratory" for 1994-2000, 2011-2013 and in 2015. The results of serological studies of patients on anti-HEV IgM in hospital at the Odessa Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital with the diagnosis of acute viral hepatitis, in which hepatitis A, B, C, D were excluded in 2011-2013, 2015. The results of serological studies of patients with anti-HEV IgG inpatient treatment at the Odessa Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital with different diagnoses, except for "acute viral hepatitis" during 2015. For serological tests, the following test systems were used: "Vector- Best".Research methods: retrospective epidemiological, serological, analytical, statistical.Results and discussion. The proportion of confirmed cases of HЕ in the structure of acute viral hepatitis among persons over 15 years of age living in the Odessa region during 1994-2015, on average, was 0,98%. Among children under 14 years of age, the HЕ was confirmed, on average, 1,14% of cases. The НE virus most often affected people over 30 years of age. Among pregnant women who contracted acute viral hepatitis, there were no cases of НE. Given the year-round nature of the detection of НE markers in patients, it is possible to judge the constant circulation of the virus in environmental objects on the territory of the Odessa region. An analysis of the study of the immunostructure of the population of the Odessa region towards the НЕ in 2015 showed that 8,1% of the population is seropositive, which indicates the previously transferred НE. The results of the research showed that the meeting with the virus of the population of the Odessa region occurs already in adolescence and by the age of 60 about 20.00% of individuals are immune to the pathogen. Seroprevalence of the population of the Odessa region increases with age.Conclusions. In Ukraine there is no registration of hepatitis E, whereas in patients with acute hepatitis living in the territory of the Odessa region, anti-HEV IgM is often released, on average 0.98%, in some years up to 3.23%. Immune structure of the population of the Odessa region to the HE indicates that the meeting with the virus occurs in adolescence and by the age of 60 about 20.00% of the population is immune to the pathogen. In different regions of Ukraine, a high frequency of detection of antibodies to НE (10.1-20.0%) was noted, which is a confirmation of the active epidemic process of НE. For objective expansion and clarification of submissions, it is necessary to make the НE in the national register of infectious diseases in Ukraine.