Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, Hungária krt. 23-25, H-1143 Budapest, Hungary.
Vet Microbiol. 2010 Jul 14;143(2-4):106-16. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.11.004. Epub 2009 Nov 18.
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an enterically transmitted human pathogen. HEV infections are mainly associated with acute, self-limited, icteric hepatitis with an average mortality rate of 1%. Animal reservoirs are considered to play an important role in the maintenance of the virus and in the spread of HEV to humans. HEV-induced seroconversion was described in several species, however clinical hepatitis in animals has not been observed to date. HEV strains from animals are genetically closely related to human HEV isolates, which supports the opinions on the zoonotic transmission of the virus. In this expansive study the occurrence of HEV was investigated in Hungarian wild and domesticated animal samples. HEV RNA was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in liver samples of wild boars, roe deer, and deer. The investigations of domestic swine samples detected HEV in 39% of the investigated Hungarian pig farms. Simultaneous investigation revealed no definite difference between liver and faeces samples of domestic pigs in the frequency of HEV positivity. The highest (36%) incidence of HEV infection was found among the 11-16-week-old pigs. Samples from domestic cattle and rodents collected in pig farms, forests and meadows were tested negative for HEV RNA. Phylogenetic analysis of partial sequences amplified within the ORF1 and ORF2 regions of selected strains revealed that the detected viruses belong to three subgroups of the third genogroup of HEV, and are closely related to human and swine HEV strains detected in different countries. The investigations revealed widespread distribution of HEV in Hungarian wild ungulate and domesticated swine populations, with considerable genetic diversity among the strains.
戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）是一种经肠道传播的人类病原体。HEV 感染主要与急性、自限性、黄疸性肝炎有关，平均死亡率为 1%。动物宿主被认为在病毒的维持和 HEV 向人类的传播中发挥重要作用。已在多种物种中描述了 HEV 诱导的血清转换，但迄今为止尚未观察到动物的临床肝炎。动物来源的 HEV 株在遗传上与人类 HEV 分离株密切相关，这支持了病毒的人畜共患传播的观点。在这项广泛的研究中，研究了匈牙利野生动物和家养动物样本中的 HEV 发生情况。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应在野猪、狍和鹿的肝组织样本中检测到 HEV RNA。对家猪样本的调查检测到 39%的匈牙利养猪场存在 HEV。同时调查显示，在家猪的肝和粪便样本中，HEV 阳性率没有明显差异。HEV 感染的最高发病率（36%）出现在 11-16 周龄的猪中。从养猪场、森林和草地采集的家养牛和啮齿动物样本均为 HEV RNA 阴性。对选定株系 ORF1 和 ORF2 区扩增的部分序列进行的系统进化分析表明，检测到的病毒属于 HEV 第三基因型的三个亚群，与不同国家检测到的人类和猪 HEV 株密切相关。调查显示，HEV 在匈牙利野生动物和家养猪群中广泛分布，株系间存在相当大的遗传多样性。
