Huang F F, Haqshenas G, Shivaprasad H L, Guenette D K, Woolcock P R, Larsen C T, Pierson F W, Elvinger F, Toth T E, Meng X J
Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0342, USA.
J Clin Microbiol. 2002 Nov;40(11):4197-202. doi: 10.1128/JCM.40.11.4197-4202.2002.
We recently identified and characterized a novel virus, designated avian hepatitis E virus (avian HEV), from chickens with hepatitis-splenomegaly syndrome (HS syndrome) in the United States. Avian HEV is genetically related to but distinct from human and swine HEVs. To determine the extent of genetic variation and the seroprevalence of avian HEV infection in chicken flocks, we genetically identified and characterized 11 additional avian HEV isolates from chickens with HS syndrome and assessed the prevalence of avian HEV antibodies from a total of 1,276 chickens of different ages and breeds from 76 different flocks in five states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Wisconsin). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a truncated recombinant avian HEV ORF2 antigen was developed and used to determine avian HEV seroprevalence. About 71% of chicken flocks and 30% of chickens tested in the study were positive for antibodies to avian HEV. About 17% of chickens younger than 18 weeks were seropositive, whereas about 36% of adult chickens were seropositive. By using a reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay, we tested 21 bile samples from chickens with HS syndrome in California, Connecticut, New York, and Wisconsin for the presence of avian HEV RNA. Of the 21 bile samples, 12 were positive for 30- to 35-nm HEV-like virus particles by electron microscopy (EM). A total of 11 of the 12 EM-positive bile samples and 6 of the 9 EM-negative bile samples were positive for avian HEV RNA by RT-PCR. The sequences of a 372-bp region within the helicase gene of 11 avian HEV isolates were determined. Sequence analyses revealed that the 11 field isolates of avian HEV had 78 to 100% nucleotide sequence identities to each other, 79 to 88% identities to the prototype avian HEV, 76 to 80% identities to chicken big liver and spleen disease virus, and 56 to 61% identities to other known strains of human and swine HEV. The data from this study indicated that, like swine and human HEVs, avian HEV isolates are genetically heterogenic and that avian HEV infection is enzoonotic in chicken flocks in the United States.
我们最近从美国患有肝炎-脾肿大综合征（HS综合征）的鸡中鉴定并表征了一种新型病毒，命名为禽戊型肝炎病毒（禽HEV）。禽HEV在基因上与人类和猪的HEV相关，但又有所不同。为了确定鸡群中禽HEV感染的基因变异程度和血清流行率，我们从患有HS综合征的鸡中对另外11株禽HEV分离株进行了基因鉴定和表征，并评估了来自五个州（加利福尼亚州、科罗拉多州、康涅狄格州、弗吉尼亚州和威斯康星州）76个不同鸡群的1276只不同年龄和品种鸡的禽HEV抗体流行率。开发了一种使用截短的重组禽HEV ORF2抗原的酶联免疫吸附测定法来确定禽HEV血清流行率。在该研究中，约71%的鸡群和30%的检测鸡对禽HEV抗体呈阳性。18周龄以下的鸡中约17%血清呈阳性，而成鸡中约36%血清呈阳性。通过使用逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）测定法，我们检测了来自加利福尼亚州、康涅狄格州、纽约州和威斯康星州患有HS综合征的鸡的21份胆汁样本中禽HEV RNA的存在情况。在这21份胆汁样本中，通过电子显微镜（EM）检测发现12份样本中有30至35纳米的HEV样病毒颗粒呈阳性。12份EM阳性胆汁样本中的11份以及9份EM阴性胆汁样本中的6份通过RT-PCR检测禽HEV RNA呈阳性。测定了11株禽HEV分离株解旋酶基因内一个372碱基区域的序列。序列分析表明，11株禽HEV田间分离株彼此之间的核苷酸序列同一性为78%至100%，与禽HEV原型的同一性为
