No Evidence for Orthohepevirus C in Archived Human Samples in Germany, 2000–2020

Faber, Mirko; Wenzel, Jürgen J.; Erl, Monika; Stark, Klaus; Schemmerer, Mathias

doi:10.3390/v14040742

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…In our study, similar to the cited studies, we focused on assessing the circulation of rat HEV and HEV-3 in rats rather than determining rat HEV in swine and other animals. Indeed, the presence of the virus has been investigated in humans in a limited number of countries, including Hong Kong, France, Spain and Germany, and has been detected in patients with acute hepatitis in Hong Kong and Spain and in chronic hepatitis in France [ 5 , 15 , 17 , 45 , 46 ]. The transmission pathway of rat HEV from natural host to human remains to be identified.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Detection of Hepatitis E Virus (Rocahepevirus ratti Genotype C1) in Synanthropic Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Romania

Porea

Răileanu

Crivei

et al. 2023

Viruses

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Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen with different viral genera and species reported in a wide range of animals. Rodents, particularly rats, carry the specific genus rat HEV (Rocahepevirus genus, genotype C1) and are exposed occasionally to HEV-3 (Paslahepevirus genus, genotype 3), a zoonotic genotype identified in humans and widely distributed in domestic and feral pigs. In this study, the presence of HEV was investigated in synanthropic Norway rats from Eastern Romania, in areas where the presence of HEV-3 was previously reported in pigs, wild boars and humans. Using methods capable of detecting different HEV species, the presence of HEV RNA was investigated in 69 liver samples collected from 52 rats and other animal species. Nine rat liver samples were identified as being positive for rat HEV RNA (17.3%). High sequence identity (85–89% nt) was found with other European Rocahepevirus. All samples tested from other animal species, within the same environment, were negative for HEV. This is the first study to demonstrate the presence of HEV in rats from Romania. Since rat HEV has been reported to cause zoonotic infections in humans, this finding supports the need to extend the diagnosis of Rocahepevirus in humans with suspicion of hepatitis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Detection of Hepatitis E Virus (Rocahepevirus ratti Genotype C1) in Synanthropic Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Romania

Porea

Răileanu

Crivei

et al. 2023

Viruses

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“…Nucleic acid was isolated on an EZ1 ® Advanced XL workstation using the EZ1 Virus Mini Kit v2.0 (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Eluted nucleic acid was analyzed by RT-qPCR according to a published protocol [ 13 ]. The HEV-C1 RNA concentration was determined by absolute quantification and expressed as genome copies per mL (c/mL).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Germany, despite some preliminary serological evidence from a study on forestry workers [ 12 ], no acute PCR-positive individuals have been identified thus far. In particular, a recent study on left-over samples from patients with suspected acute hepatitis E and no detectable HEV RNA found no evidence for infections with rat HEV [ 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

HuH-7-Lunet BLR Cells Propagate Rat Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in a Cell Culture System Optimized for HEV

Schemmerer

Erl

Wenzel

2022

Viruses

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The family Hepeviridae comprises the species Orthohepevirus A–D (HEV-A to -D). HEV-C genotype 1 (HEV-C1, rat HEV) is able to infect humans. This study investigated whether an optimized HEV-A cell culture system is able to propagate the cell culture-derived rat HEV, and if de novo isolation of the virus from rat liver is possible. We tested the liver carcinoma cell lines PLC/PRF/5, HuH-7, and HuH-7-Lunet BLR for their susceptibility to HEV-C1 strains. Cells were infected with the cell culture-derived HEV-C1 strain R63 and rat liver-derived strain R68. Cells were maintained in MEMM medium, which was refreshed every 3–4 days. The viral load of HEV-C1 was determined by RT-qPCR in the supernatant and expressed as genome copies per mL (c/mL). Rat HEV replication was most efficient in the newly introduced HuH-7-Lunet BLR cell line. Even if the rat HEV isolate had been pre-adapted to PLC/PRF/5 by multiple passages, replication in HuH-7-Lunet BLR was still at least equally effective. Only HuH-7-Lunet BLR cells were susceptible to the isolation of HEV-C1 from the liver homogenate. These results suggest HuH-7-Lunet BLR as the most permissive cell line for rat HEV. Our HEV-C1 cell culture system may be useful for basic research, the animal-free generation of large amounts of the virus as well as for the testing of antiviral compounds and drugs.

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“…This data includes sixteen patients in Hong Kong, three patients in Spain, one patient in Central Africa, and one patient in France. RHEV initial detection occurred in rats from Germany and Vietnam [3], but no human cases have been found in Germany [15] or Hungary [16] after investigation. In Spain, a comprehensive study conducted by Rivero-Juarez et al revealed the presence of Rocahepevirus ratti infection in three human patients.…”

Section: Human Infections Associated With Rocahepevirus Rattimentioning

confidence: 98%

Rocahepevirus ratti as an Emerging Cause of Acute Hepatitis Worldwide

Benavent,

Carlos,

Reina

2023

Microorganisms

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The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a widespread human infection that causes mainly acute infection and can evolve to a chronic manifestation in immunocompromised individuals. In addition to the common strains of hepatitis E virus (HEV-A), known as Paslahepevirus balayani, pathogenic to humans, a genetically highly divergent rat origin hepevirus (RHEV) can cause hepatitis possessing a potential risk of cross-species infection and zoonotic transmission. Rocahepevirus ratti, formerly known as Orthohepevirus C, is a single-stranded RNA virus, recently reassigned to Rocahepevirus genus in the Hepeviridae family, including genotypes C1 and C2. RHEV primarily infects rats but has been identified as a rodent zoonotic virus capable of infecting humans through the consumption of contaminated food or water, causing both acute and chronic hepatitis cases in both animals and humans. This review compiles data concluding that 60% (295/489) of RHEV infections are found in Asia, being the continent with the highest zoonotic and transmission potential. Asia not only has the most animal cases but also 16 out of 21 human infections worldwide. Europe follows with 26% (128/489) of RHEV infections in animals, resulting in four human cases out of twenty-one globally. Phylogenetic analysis and genomic sequencing will be employed to gather global data, determine epidemiology, and assess geographical distribution. This information will enhance diagnostic accuracy, pathogenesis understanding, and help prevent cross-species transmission, particularly to humans.

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No Evidence for Orthohepevirus C in Archived Human Samples in Germany, 2000–2020

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

First Detection of Hepatitis E Virus (Rocahepevirus ratti Genotype C1) in Synanthropic Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Romania

First Detection of Hepatitis E Virus (Rocahepevirus ratti Genotype C1) in Synanthropic Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Romania

HuH-7-Lunet BLR Cells Propagate Rat Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in a Cell Culture System Optimized for HEV

Rocahepevirus ratti as an Emerging Cause of Acute Hepatitis Worldwide

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