Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Microbiology 2008-3289 5 2 2013 06 15 172 176 EN Hassan Ehteram Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran. Amitis Ramezani Clinical Research and 6Vacination, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Ali Eslamifar Clinical Research and 6Vacination, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Masoomeh Sofian Tuberculosis and Pediatric Infectious Research Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. Mohammad Banifazl Iranian Society for Supporting Patients with Infectious Diseases, Tehran, Iran. Shahin Ghassemi Firoozgar Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Arezoo Aghakhani Clinical Research and 6Vacination, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Parisa Mashayekhi Department of Vaccination, Pasteur Institute of Iran, No 69, Pasture Ave., Tehran 13164, Iran. 2015 10 16 Background and Objectives: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major public health concern in developing countries. HEV transmission occurs primarily by the fecal-oral route. It has also been reported that blood donors are potentially able to cause transfusion-associated hepatitis E in endemic areas. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HEV infection among volunteer blood donors in Central province of Iran in 2012. Material and Methods: A total of 530 consecutive blood donor samples collected from Blood Transfusion Organization, Central Province of Iran. All samples were tested for the presence of IgG Hepatitis E antibody (anti-HEV) using enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: From 530 blood donors, 91.9% were male and 8.1% were female. Overall, anti-HEV was found in 76 of 530 samples (14.3%). There was no significant difference in HEV seropositivity between the subjects regarding gender and area of residence (urban vs. rural). Anti-HEV was distributed among all age groups. Although people aged 31-50 years had the highest prevalence, but there was no statistical difference between the age groups. Conclusion: This study shows a relatively high prevalence of anti-HEV in the blood donors of Central province of Iran. More investigations are needed to assess the potential benefit of adding HEV screening of blood products to the current blood donor selection criteria. https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/606 https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/download/606/379