Abstract
In this report, we present a case of a 50-year-old immunocompetent man with Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) associated with an autochthonous hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. The patient presented with tetraparesis and elevated liver enzymes. HEV infection was confirmed serologically and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from blood and stool. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a novel HEV genotype 3 isolate closely related to other subgenotype 3c isolates from pig livers purchased in Germany. This indicates an autochthonous, potentially food-related hepatitis E and is, to our knowledge, the first report about a neurological syndrome associated with an HEV subgenotype 3c infection.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Abbreviations
- CSF:
-
Cerebrospinal fluid
- GBS:
-
Guillain–Barré syndrome
- HEV:
-
Hepatitis E virus
References
McGrogan A, Madle GC, Seaman HE, de Vries CS. The epidemiology of Guillain–Barré syndrome worldwide. A systematic literature review. Neuroepidemiology. 2009;32:150–63.
van Doorn PA, Ruts L, Jacobs BC. Clinical features, pathogenesis, and treatment of Guillain–Barré syndrome. Lancet Neurol. 2008;7:939–50.
Pritchard J. What’s new in Guillain–Barré syndrome? Postgrad Med J. 2008;84:532–8.
Cosi V, Versino M. Guillain–Barré syndrome. Neurol Sci. 2006;27:S47–51.
Yuki N, Hartung HP. Guillain–Barré syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2012;366:2294–304.
Cronin S, McNicholas R, Kavanagh E, Reid V, O’Rourke K. Anti-glycolipid GM2-positive Guillain–Barré syndrome due to hepatitis E infection. Ir J Med Sci. 2011;180:255–7.
Kamar N, Bendall RP, Peron JM, Cintas P, Prudhomme L, Mansuy JM, et al. Hepatitis E virus and neurologic disorders. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011;17:173–9.
Loly JP, Rikir E, Seivert M, Legros E, Defrance P, Belaiche J, et al. Guillain–Barré syndrome following hepatitis E. World J Gastroenterol. 2009;15:1645–7.
Maurissen I, Jeurissen A, Strauven T, Sprengers D, De Schepper B. First case of anti-ganglioside GM1-positive Guillain–Barré syndrome due to hepatitis E virus infection. Infection. 2012;40:323–6.
Sood A, Midha V, Sood N. Guillain–Barré syndrome with acute hepatitis E. Am J Gastroenterol. 2000;95:3667–8.
Tse AC, Cheung RT, Ho SL, Chan KH. Guillain–Barré syndrome associated with acute hepatitis E infection. J Clin Neurosci. 2012;19:607–8.
Purdy MA, Khudyakov YE. The molecular epidemiology of hepatitis E virus infection. Virus Res. 2011;161:31–9.
Dalton HR, Bendall R, Ijaz S, Banks M. Hepatitis E: an emerging infection in developed countries. Lancet Infect Dis. 2008;8:698–709.
Aggarwal R, Naik S. Epidemiology of hepatitis E: current status. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2009;24:1484–93.
Wenzel JJ, Preiss J, Schemmerer M, Huber B, Plentz A, Jilg W. Detection of hepatitis E virus (HEV) from porcine livers in Southeastern Germany and high sequence homology to human HEV isolates. J Clin Virol. 2011;52:50–4.
Colson P, Borentain P, Motte A, Lagrange X, Kaba M, Henry M, et al. First human cases of hepatitis E infection with genotype 3c strains. J Clin Virol. 2007;40:318–20.
Rose N, Lunazzi A, Dorenlor V, Merbah T, Eono F, Eloit M, et al. High prevalence of Hepatitis E virus in French domestic pigs. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2011;34:419–27.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
N. Scharn and T. Ganzenmueller contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scharn, N., Ganzenmueller, T., Wenzel, J.J. et al. Guillain–Barré syndrome associated with autochthonous infection by hepatitis E virus subgenotype 3c. Infection 42, 171–173 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-013-0448-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-013-0448-5