ABSTRACT
Hepatitis E was formerly caused enterically-transmitted, waterborne, or fecal-oral non-A, non-B hepatitis. Hepatitis E has its highest care-fatality rates in pregnant women. The study was undertaken with the objection of searching the Anti-HEV(IgG) positive rate in Kyeong Ju, Korea. A total of 500 pregnant women who visited the antenatal clinic were selected during the period from November, 1993 to June, 1994 at the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kyeong Ju hospital, Dongguk university and taken the test for IgG anti-HEV with ELISA kit. The positive rate of IgG anti-HEV was 2.8%. So we recommanded that anti-HEV is included in addition to HBsAg and ALT in prenatal screening tests for pregnant women, who have had clinical history of hepatitis.