Public health then and now: celebrating 50 years of MMWR at CDC. Introduction.

Hepatitis E — Continued Outbreaks of hepatitis E (i.e., enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis) have occurred in some parts of the world and have generally been related to contaminated water supplies. Until recently, when research-based serologic tests ( 1,2 ) were developed to test for antibody to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV), no serologic test was available to identify HEV infection, and diagnosis depended on a history of exposure in an appropriate epidemiologic setting and the exclusion of other causes of viral hepatitis. During 1989–1992, acute HEV infection was documented among six persons in the United States who had returned from international travel. This report summarizes CDC’s serologic document ation of acute HEV infection—presumed to have been acquired during international travel—in four of these persons.