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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 21, 2016; 22(7): 2271-2283
Published online Feb 21, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i7.2271
Hepatitis E virus: An ancient hidden enemy in Latin America
Nora A Fierro, Mauricio Realpe, Tzintli Meraz-Medina, Sonia Roman, Arturo Panduro
Nora A Fierro, Immunovirology Unit, Department of Molecular Biology in Medicine, Civil Hospital of Guadalajara, “Fray Antonio Alcalde”, Department of Physiology, Health Sciences Center, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44280, Jalisco, México
Mauricio Realpe, Departamento de Medicina Veterinaria, Centro Universitario de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Nextipac, Zapopan 44600, Jalisco, México
Tzintli Meraz-Medina, Universidad Politécnica de la Zona Metropolitana de Guadalajara, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga 45640, Jalisco, Mexico
Sonia Roman, Arturo Panduro, Department of Molecular Biology in Medicine, Civil Hospital de Guadalajara “Fray Antonio Alcalde”, and Health Sciences Center, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44280, Jalisco, México
Author contributions: Fierro NA and Realpe M contributed equally to this work, they performed the research and wrote the paper; Meraz-Medina T, Roman S and Panduro A performed the research and critically revised the manuscript.
Supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Mexico (CONACYT) Grant No.127229 and Grant No.188240 to Fierro NA.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Arturo Panduro, MD, PhD, FAASLD, Department of Molecular Biology in Medicine, Civil Hospital de Guadalajara “Fray Antonio Alcalde”, and Health Sciences Center, University of Guadalajara, Hospital # 278, Col. El Retiro, Guadalajara 44280, Jalisco, México. apanduro@prodigy.net.mx
Telephone: +52-33-36147743 Fax: +52-33-36147743
Received: July 21, 2015
Peer-review started: July 30, 2015
First decision: September 29, 2015
Revised: October 21, 2015
Accepted: December 30, 2015
Article in press: December 30, 2015
Published online: February 21, 2016
Processing time: 194 Days and 6.7 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Despite the widespread presence of hepatitis E virus (HEV), this pathogen is not commonly considered from a global public health perspective. Active research on hepatitis E both in animals and humans has provided novel insight into HEV pathogenesis, zoonotic potential and its role in chronic liver disease. Detailed guidelines for tracking cases need to be developed to contain the virus. This action is particularly necessary in endemic and emerging situations in regions with a higher risk of developing the infection, including Latin America.