seroprevalence of hepatitis e among pregnant women in urmia, iran

background while hepatitis e virus (hev) mostly causes self-limited disease in general population, it is more severe in pregnant women. objectives this study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of anti-hev igg among a population of pregnant women in west azerbaijan of . patients and methods one hundred thirty six pregnant women referred to urban health centers of urmia for pursuing pregnancy-related health services were enrolled in a descriptive, cross-sectional study. anti-hev igg antibody was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa, dia.pro; diagnostic bioprobes, ). results only five (3.6%) of 136 cases had positive results for anti-hev igg. there was no significant difference between age (p=0.88), and income level (p=0.19) of the two seropositive and seronegative groups. all seropositive cases were from urban areas. conclusions the seroprevalence of anti-hev igg is low in the population of pregnant women in , similar to the rates reported from developed countries. effective health services and provision of safe water supplies in urmia may take role in this low prevalence rate.