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Volume 27, Number 6—June 2021
Research

Case–Control Study of Risk Factors for Acquired Hepatitis E Virus Infections in Blood Donors, United Kingdom, 2018–2019

Iona SmithComments to Author , Bengü Said, Aisling Vaughan, Becky Haywood, Samreen Ijaz, Claire Reynolds, Su Brailsford, Katherine Russell, and Dilys Morgan
Author affiliations: Public Health England, London, UK (I. Smith, B. Said, A. Vaughan, B. Haywood, S. Ijaz, C. Reynolds, S. Brailsford, K. Russell, D. Morgan); National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, Liverpool, UK (I. Smith)

Main Article

Table 2

Univariate analysis of risk factors for hepatitis E infection in study of blood donor–related transmission, 2018–2019*

Risk factor Cases, n = 117 Controls, n = 564 Univariable analysis
OR ((95% CI)
p value
Food consumption
Bacon‡ 102 (87.2) 343 (60.8) 4.6 (2.6–8.2) <0.0001
Cured pork meat‡ 73 (62.4) 158 (28.0) 4.5 (3.0–6.9) <0.0001
Ham (off-the bone or joint) 42 (35.9) 148 (26.2) 1.6 (1.0–2.4) 0.04
Other pork products 26 (22.2) 79 (14.0) 1.7 (1.0–2.8) 0.04
Other sausages 11 (9.4) 59 (10.5) 0.9 (0.4–1.7) 0.7
Pate‡ 35 (29.9) 83 (14.7) 2.5 (1.6–3.9) <0.0001
Pigs’ liver‡ 8 (6.8) 10 (1.8) 3.7 (1.4–9.8) 0.01
Pork‡ 72 (61.5) 269 (47.7) 1.8 (1.2–2.6) 0.01
Pork pie 40 (34.2) 142 (25.2) 1.5 (0.9–2.2) 0.09
Pork sausages‡ 95 (81.2) 340 (60.3) 2.9 (1.7–4.7) <0.0001
Sliced sandwich ham, prepacked‡ 81 (69.2) 307 (54.4) 1.9 (1.3 – 3.0) 0.003
Any pork product‡ 114 (97.4) 445 (78.9) 10.5 (3.3–33.6) <0.0001
Chicken 107 (91.5) 443 (78.6) 3.0 (1.5–5.9) 0.002
Fish 84 (71.8) 395 (70.0) 1.1 (0.7–1.7) 0.7
Game 9 (7.7) 18 (3.2) 2.4 (1.1–5.5) 0.04
Other offal‡ 16 (13.7) 34 (6.0) 2.3 (1.2–4.3) 0.01
Shellfish 44 (37.6) 191 (33.9) 1.3 (0.8–1.9) 0.3
Fresh fruit‡ 109 (93.2) 472 (83.7) 2.8 (1.3 – 6.0) 0.01
Raw vegetables 81 (69.2) 354 (62.8) 1.5 (1.0–2.3) 0.08
Salad vegetables‡
108 (92.3)
460 (81.6)
3.0 (1.5–6.2)
0.01
Supermarket
Supermarket A‡ 60 (51.3) 202 (35.8) 2.0 (1.3 – 3.0) 0.001
Supermarket B 33 (28.2) 159 (28.2) 1.0 (0.7–1.6) 0.9
Supermarket C 71 (60.7) 312 (55.3) 1.2 (0.8–1.9) 0.3
Supermarket D 15 (12.8) 114 (20.2) 0.6 (0.3–1.0) 0.05
Supermarket E 58 (49.6) 245 (43.4) 1.3 (0.8–1.9) 0.3
Supermarket F 40 (34.2) 150 (26.6) 1.4 (0.9–2.1) 0.1
Supermarket G‡ 40 (34.2) 123 (21.8) 1.8 (1.2–2.8) 0.01
Supermarket H 20 (17.1) 112 (19.9) 0.8 (0.5–1.4) 0.5
Supermarket I‡ 33 (38.2) 112 (19.9) 1.6 (1.0–2.5) 0.04
Supermarket J 0 (0.0) 2 (0.4) 1 (NA) NA
Supermarket K 1 (0.9) 14 (2.5) 0.4 (0.1–2.8) 0.3
Local butcher/shop
17 (7.7)
49 (2.3)
3.6 (1.5–8.8)
0.0
Animal contact
Yes‡ 97 (82.9) 389 (69.0) 2.3 (1.4–3.9) 0.0
Cat 48 (41.0) 209 (37.1) 1.2 (0.8–1.8) 0.4
Dog‡ 76 (65.0) 297 (52.7) 1.7 (1.1–2.6) 0.01
Rodent 8 (6.8) 24 (4.3) 1.7 (0.8–4.0) 0.2
Pig 5 (4.3) 15 (2.7) 1.6 (0.6–4.5) 0.4
Sheep 2 (1.7) 29 (5.1) 0.3 (0.1–1.4) 0.1
Horse 6 (5.1) 39 (6.9) 0.8 (0.3–1.8) 0.5
Cow
3 (2.6)
20 (3.6)
0.7 (0.2–2.4)
0.6
Alcohol consumption†
Yes‡ 95 (81.2) 395 (70.0) 1.8 (1.1–3.0) 0.02
1–10 units/wk‡ 66 (57.4) 279 (49.8) 1.9 (1.1–3.1) 0.02
10–20 units/wk 17 (14.8) 71 (12.7) 1.8 (0.9–3.5) 0.1
>20 units/wk
10 (8.7)
41 (7.3)
1.6 (0.7–3.7)
0.3
Underlying illnesses
Medical condition 30 (25.6) 130 (23.1) 1.1 (0.7–1.8) 0.7
Respiratory 4 (3.4) 19 (3.4) 1.1 (0.4–3.2) 0.9
Liver 1 (0.9) 2 (0.4) 1.9 (0.2–21.4) 0.6
Heart 0 (0.0) 1 (0.2) 1 (–)
Diabetes 3 (2.6) 5 (0.9) 2.4 (0.6–10.5)
0.2

*Values are no. (%) participants except as indicated. OR, odds ratio. (†Missing information for 2 cases. (‡Significant at univariate analysis.

Main Article

Page created: April 21, 2021
Page updated: May 18, 2021
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