The objective of the present study was to investigate the seroprevalence of HAV and HEV in Polish blood donors (BDs). One hundred and ten randomly selected healthy BDs, living in Wielkopolska Region were tested for anti-HAV IgG and anti-HEV IgG with commercial assays. The seroprevalence of anti-HAV was 11.8%; anti-HEV were detected in 60.9% of BDs (p < 0.0001). Consumption of risky food was more common in anti-HEV-positive BDs (59.1% vs. 33.3%; p = 0.01). Twelve out of 20 BDs (60%) with no history of travel abroad were exposed to HEV. Wielkopolska Region, Poland should be regarded as a new HEV infection-hyperendemic area in Europe.
Keywords: HAV; HEV; Poland; blood donors; seroprevalence.