Detection of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) in a demographic managed wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) population in Italy

Martelli, Francesca; Caprioli, Andrea; Zengarini, M.; Marata, A.; Fiegna, C.; Bartolo, Ilaria Di; Ruggeri, Franco Maria; Delogu, Mauro; Ostanello, Fabio

doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2007.07.004

Cited by 96 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Recently, HEV has been detected in wild boars in Italy (Martelli et al, 2007). Together with data obtained from pigs in the Netherlands (Herremans et al, 2007;van der Poel et al, 2003) and Spain (Seminati et al, 2007) The used serum samples turned out to be appropriate for RT-PCR analysis even after storage for more than 10 years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Detection of hepatitis E virus in archived German wild boar serum samples

Kaci

Nöckler

Johne

2008

Veterinary Microbiology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Detection of hepatitis E virus in archived German wild boar serum samples

Kaci

Nöckler

Johne

2008

Veterinary Microbiology

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“…In Europe, consumption of wild boar meat has also been reported to be associated with HEV infection (49), suggesting that raw or undercooked wild boar products may cause autochthonous HEV infections (38). Although HEV RNA has been detected in 5 to 25% of wild boars in some European countries (7,14,23), more recent reports indicate that HEV RNA is detected in only 2 to 2.5% of wild boar livers (13,38). As HEV is excreted in the feces of infected animals, it can be speculated that HEV could be transmitted directly by contact with wild boar or deer (38) or their feces and indirectly through contaminated water, providing a vehicle for enteric transmission to other susceptible animals and humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Hepatitis E Virus Seroprevalence in Forestry Workers and in Wild Boars in France

et al. 2012

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f Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a fecally and orally transmitted human pathogen of worldwide distribution. In industrial countries, HEV is observed in an increasing number of autochthonous cases and is considered to be an emerging pathogen. A growing body of evidence suggests that HEV is a zoonotic disease, and pig handlers and pig veterinarians have been reported to be high-risk groups for HEV infection. The aims of the present study were to establish the prevalence of anti-HEV in wild boars in France and to identify whether forestry workers are at a higher risk of HEV infection. Three different anti-HEV tests were used to compare their effectiveness in detecting anti-HEV in the general population. The most sensitive test was then used to investigate HEV seroprevalence in 593 forestry workers and 421 wild boars. Anti-HEV was detected in 31% of the forestry workers and 14% of the wild boars. Detection of anti-HEV in humans was correlated with age, geographical location, and occupational activity and in wild boars was correlated with geographical location. HEV infection is frequent in woodcutters in France, and it varies geographically. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to elucidate the transmission route and the exact virus reservoirs.H epatitis E virus (HEV) is a nonenveloped, single-strand RNA virus that has been classified as the prototype and sole member in the Hepevirus genus of the Hepeviridae family (29). The viral genome of about 7.2 kb contains 3 partially overlapping open reading frames (ORFs). ORF1 encodes nonstructural viral proteins, ORF2 encodes the capsid protein, and ORF3 encodes a small multifunctional protein. Four major HEV genotypes belonging to a single serotype have been identified (11). Genotype 1 is detected in most cases of human HEV disease (waterborne epidemics and sporadic cases), genotype 2 is rare and has been found in several epidemics in Mexico and central Africa, and genotypes 3 and 4 are detected in swine and in autochthonous HEV infections in industrial countries (5,19,20,30,34,39,45,49).HEV is a significant fecally and orally transmitted human pathogen of worldwide distribution, causing self-limited disease with mortality rates of 1 to 3% in the general population and up to 20 to 25% in pregnant women. In developing countries, HEV outbreaks have been attributed to feces-contaminated water supplies. In industrial countries, HEV is observed in travelers returning from countries where HEV is endemic and in an increasing number of individuals with no history of traveling to regions where HEV is endemic, particularly in France (5, 6, 20). Molecular analysis of HEV strains has revealed that the strains identified in nonimported HEV cases form a group of genetically divergent isolates compared to HEV strains in regions where HEV is endemic (31, 39). The modes of transmission of sporadic nonimported cases and of autochthonous cases have rarely been determined, with the exception of zoonotic food-borne transmission from pigs, wild boars, and wild deer (19,25,40,41,4...

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“…The first HEV animal strain was detected in a domestic pig from the USA in 1997 (Meng et al, 1997). Other hosts of the virus include wild boar and deer (Martelli et al, 2008;Schielke et al, 2009;Tei et al, 2003). In 2001, avian HEV was detected in chickens with hepatitis-splenomegaly syndrome in the USA (Haqshenas et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of a novel hepatitis E-like virus in faeces of wild rats using a nested broad-spectrum RT-PCR

Johne

Plenge‐Bönig

Heß

et al. 2009

Journal of General Virology

322

273

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Hepatitis E is a rare human disease in developed countries. It is caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV), which is probably transmitted zoonotically to humans from domestic pigs and wild boars. Multiple reports on the detection of HEV-specific antibodies in rats have suggested the presence of an HEV-related agent; however, infectious virus or a viral genome has not been demonstrated so far. Here, a nested broad-spectrum RT-PCR protocol was developed capable of detecting different HEV types including those derived from wild boar and chicken. Screening of 30 faecal samples from wild Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from Hamburg (Germany) resulted in the detection of two sequences with similarities to human, mammalian and avian HEV. Virus particles with a morphology reminiscent of HEV were demonstrated by immunoelectron microscopy in one of these samples and the virus was tentatively designated rat HEV. Genome fragments with sizes of 4019 and 1545 nt were amplified from two samples. Sequence comparison with human and avian strains revealed only 59.9 and 49.9 % sequence identity, respectively. Similarly, the deduced amino acid sequence for the complete capsid protein had 56.2 and 42.9 % identity with human and avian strains, respectively. Inoculation of the samples onto three different permanent rat liver cell lines did not result in detectable virus replication as assayed by RT-PCR with cells of the fifth virus passage. Further investigations are necessary to clarify the zoonotic potential of rat HEV and to assess its suitability to serve in a laboratory rat animal model for human hepatitis E. INTRODUCTIONHepatitis E, caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV), is a worldwide human disease that is endemic in many developing countries. In industrialized countries, sporadic cases are increasingly reported, which can be traced either to imported infections from endemic regions or to autochthonous HEV infections (Clemente-Casares et al., 2003;Dalton et al., 2008; Gyarmati et al., 2007;Purcell & Emerson, 2008). Hepatitis E is characterized by a selflimiting jaundice of varying severity, which is hard to distinguish from a hepatitis of other viral origin, and is often accompanied by non-specific symptoms such as fever, headache and pain in the upper abdomen. Although the case fatality rate of hepatitis E is low in the general population (0.5-3 %), rates of up to 20 % have been observed for pregnant women (Shrestha et al., 2007;Smith, 2001;Wichmann et al., 2008).HEV is classified as the only member of the genus Hepevirus. This genus is subdivided into four distinct genotypes and the avian HEV strains (Bilic et al., 2009), which are not included in any of the other genotypes. All mammalian HEV isolates described to date comprise the same serotype (Lu et al., 2006;Takahashi et al., 2005). The HEV virion appears as a non-enveloped icosahedral sphere of approximately 27-34 nm in diameter. The crystal structure of HEV-like particles has recently been solved (Yamashita et al., 2009). The particles are composed of a single capsid protein, whic...

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Detection of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) in a demographic managed wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) population in Italy

Cited by 96 publications

References 37 publications

Detection of hepatitis E virus in archived German wild boar serum samples

Detection of hepatitis E virus in archived German wild boar serum samples

High Hepatitis E Virus Seroprevalence in Forestry Workers and in Wild Boars in France

Detection of a novel hepatitis E-like virus in faeces of wild rats using a nested broad-spectrum RT-PCR

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