Hepatitis E is rare in France but its increasing frequency makes it an emerging infection. Autochtonous hepatitis E is prevalent, largely confined to older men and currently caused by gentotype 3f. Patients with unexplained hepatitis should be tested by hepatitis E, even in the absence of travel from endemic areas. The diagnosis is based on serological testing (including detection of specific antibodies IgM and IgG, and sometimes by determination of antibody avidity) and nucleic acid amplification techniques which might used first.
Keywords: hepatitis; serology.