Hepatitis E infections in humans are usually acquired in endemic countries in Asia or Africa. In Sweden 17 cases infected in Europe, between 1993 and 2009, were identified. All had clinical hepatitis ...E with unknown source of infection. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) was identified in faecal samples from 63 piglets in 12 pig farms in Sweden. HEV was also identified in blood from 13 out of 159 investigated Swedish wild boars from nine counties. Partial HEV genomes from humans, pigs and wild boars were sequenced and compared by phylogeny. The results showed close relatedness between HEV strains from piglets from the same farm and from wild boars from the same county. HEV strains from humans showed relatedness with strains from pigs and wild boars from the same county. This study showed that HEV strains form geographical clusters in the phylogenetic tree. The methods used in this study may thus be used for tracing the origin of an infecting strain. Furthermore, this study indicated that there are endemic sources of human HEV infections in Sweden.
Samples of serum, tissue and faeces from two pig herds in England were examined for hepatitis E virus by reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), and a virus strain from each herd was partially sequenced. ...Eleven of 42 faecal samples and 16 of 21 tissue samples from two pigs were positive for the virus by RT-PCR. Analysis of two unique but closely related nucleotide sequences obtained from the two herds showed that the viruses clustered in genotype III (6) with a human strain of the virus from an autochthonously acquired case of acute hepatitis in the UK. An ELISA based on recombinant open reading frame 2 (ORF-2) was used to detect antibodies to hepatitis E virus in 256 pig sera from the UK; 85.5 per cent of the samples were positive, compared with 58 per cent of similar samples from Swedish pigs and 23.5 per cent of samples from Dutch pigs.
The objective of the present study was to carry out a small surveillance programme in Czech pig production herds using the nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR) technique ...to trace Hepatitis E virus (HEV) in different biological samples and to characterise the detected swine HEV isolates by phylogenetic analysis. A total of 32 piglets from 11 herds clinically suspected of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) were examined. Bile, liver tissue and serum samples were collected from each animal. Due to the high genetic variability of HEV, three sets of primers targeting each of the open reading frames (ORFs) of its genome were used. HEV RNA was most frequently detected in the bile samples (40.0%), followed by liver tissue (16.1%) and serum (3.2%). Seven (63.6%) of the 11 monitored farms were found to have at least one HEV RNA positive piglet. Specific 242
bp sequences within the ORF1 coding non-structural proteins were sequenced and phylogenetically analysed. Phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony method confirmed that all detected Czech swine HEV isolates belonged to genotype III. Comparison of the Czech swine HEV isolates with corresponding sequences of swHEV available in GenBank failed to find any 100% homologous HEV isolate.
Leptospira interrogans, hantaviruses (particularly Seoul virus), hepatitis E virus (HEV), and Toxoplasma gondii are rat-associated zoonoses that are responsible for human morbidity and mortality ...worldwide. This study aimed to describe the infection patterns of these four pathogens in wild rats (Rattus norvegicus) across socioeconomic levels in neighbourhoods in Lyon, France. The infection or exposure status was determined using polymerase chain reaction or serology for 178 wild rats captured in 23 locations; additionally, confirmatory culture or mouse inoculation was performed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate whether morphological and socioeconomic data could predict the infection status of the rats. This study revealed that the rat colony's age structure may influence the prevalence of L. interrogans, hantavirus, and HEV. In addition, areas with high human population densities and low incomes may be associated with a greater number of infected rats and an increased risk of disease transmission.
Hepatitis E virus: a review Vasickova, P.,Veterinarni a Farmaceuticka Univ., Brno (Czech Republic); Psikal, I.,Vyzkumny Ustav Veterinarniho Lekarstvi, Brno (Czech Republic); Kralik, P.,Vyzkumny Ustav Veterinarniho Lekarstvi, Brno (Czech Republic) ...
Veterinární medicína,
09/2007, Letnik:
52, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The hepatitis E virus (HEV), the causative agent of hepatitis E, is a non-enveloped RNA virus. The HEV genome is formed by a non-segmented positive-sense RNA chain. The 3'end of the chain is ...polyadenylated and the 5'end is structurally characterised by the so called capping. According to currently accepted taxonomy, HEV is classified in the genus Hepevirus, the only member of the Hepeviridae family. HEV is usually transmitted via the faecal-oral route due to the fact that drinking water or water for industrial purposes is contaminated due to poor sanitation. This spread of HEV was reported in developing countries of Asia, Africa, South and Central America. However, cases in countries with the sporadic occurrence of HEV were associated with travelling to countries with an increased risk of infection. HEV infections were subsequently described in people who did not travel to endemic countries. Further studies of the HEV suggested other routes of transmission and a zoonotic potential of the virus (pigs and deer as the potential source of human infection).
•Classical swine fever is one of the most important infectious pig diseases.•The EU bans vaccination due to lacking DIVA assays.•The C-strain vaccine is safe to use and gives good protection.•The ...results from a ring trial comparison of two DIVA assays are similar.•The assays have sensitivity similar to Hoffmann PCR.
Classical swine fever is one of the most important infectious diseases for the pig industry worldwide due to its economic impact. Vaccination is an effective means to control disease, however within the EU its regular use is banned owing to the inability to differentiate infected and vaccinated animals, the so called DIVA principle. This inability complicates monitoring of disease and stops international trade thereby limiting use of the vaccine in many regions. The C-strain vaccine is safe to use and gives good protection. It is licensed for emergency vaccination in the EU in event of an outbreak. Two genetic assays that can distinguish between wild type virus and C-strain vaccines have recently been developed. Here the results from a comparison of these two real-time RT-PCR assays in an interlaboratory exercise are presented. Both assays showed similar performance.
A captive breeding programme for the Fennoscandian Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus; syn. Alopex lagopus) failed due to fatal encephalitis. The aim of this study was to identify the causative agent. Viral ...nucleic acid was detected by PCR and in situ hybridization in the brain of affected foxes. The results suggest that a herpesvirus might be the causative agent. Whether this infection also occurs in free-living Arctic foxes is unknown.
Endemic hepatitis E in two Nordic countries Norder, H; Sundqvist, L; Magnusson, L ...
Euro surveillance : bulletin européen sur les maladies transmissibles,
05/2009, Letnik:
14, Številka:
19
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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Antibodies against hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV) were found in 248 Swedish and Danish patients between 1993 and 2007. Most patients were symptomatic and tested for anti-HEV due to travel abroad. Among ...patients with known country of infection, most were infected in Asia, mainly on the Indian subcontinent. However, 29 patients were infected in Europe, nine of these had HEV IgM and/or HEV RNA in serum. In sera from 65 of 141 tested patients HEV RNA could be detected, and 63 strains could be typed by limited sequencing within ORF2. HEV RNA was found in sera from 71% of the patients with HEV IgM and IgG and in 18% of the patients with only detectable HEV IgG. It was also found up to three weeks after the onset of disease in 67% of the patients with known date of onset. Patients infected in Europe were infected by genotype 3, and were older than those infected by genotype 1 (mean age 55.3 vs 30 years, p<0.001). Since it is known that genotype 3 can infect domestic pigs, HEV strains from 18 piglets in 17 herds in Sweden and Denmark were sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses of the genotype 3 strains showed geographical clades and high similarity between strains from patients and pigs from the same area. There are thus autochthonous hepatitis E cases in Scandinavia, and there are probably many undiagnosed ones. Patients with hepatitis of unknown etiology should therefore be investigated for anti-HEV even if they have not been outside Europe, since infections acquired from pigs or other animals should be taken into consideration.
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a human pathogen with zoonotic spread, infecting both domestic and wild animals. About 17% of the Swedish population is immune to HEV, but few cases are reported annually, ...indicating that most infections are subclinical. However, clinical hepatitis E may also be overlooked. For identified cases, the source of infection is mostly unknown. In order to identify whether HEV may be spread from wild game, the prevalence of markers for past and/or ongoing infection was investigated in sera and stool samples collected from 260 hunted Swedish wild ungulates. HEV markers were found in 43 (17%) of the animals. The most commonly infected animal was moose (
) with 19 out of 69 animals (28%) showing HEV markers, followed by wild boar (
) with 21 out of 139 animals (15%), roe deer (
) with 2 out of 30 animals, red deer (
) with 1 out of 15 animals, and fallow deer (
) 0 out of 7 animals. Partial open reading frame 1 (ORF1) of the viral genomes from the animals were sequenced and compared with those from 14 endemic human cases. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that three humans were infected with HEV strains similar to those from wild boar. These results indicate that wild animals may be a source of transmission to humans and could be an unrecognized public health concern.
After PCR amplification with conservative cytomegalovirus primers, a 520 nucleotide putative
partial sequence of the DNA polymerase gene of porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) was
determined. Sequence ...comparison revealed homology to DNA polymerase genes from various
beta herpes viruses and a dendrogram was constructed depicting the relationship of PCMV to
other members of the Herpesviridae family. The dendrogram indicates that PCMV is indeed a
beta herpes virus that is more closely related to human herpes virus types 6 and 7 than to
type 5. To address the difficulties encountered during conventional PCMV detection and
characterization a set of nested PCR primers were constructed which generated DNA
fragments of 415 and 257 bp from the DNA polymerase gene. The nested PCR system proved
specific for PCMV and provided a novel means for the detection of this poorly characterized
herpes virus in pig populations, vaccines and in organs used in xenotransplantation.
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