Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Department of Infectious Diseases, Viral Gastroenteritis and Hepatitis Pathogens and Enteroviruses, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
PLoS One. 2021 Feb 26;16(2):e0247889. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247889. eCollection 2021.
Avian hepatitis E virus (aHEV) is associated with hepatitis-splenomegaly syndrome, big liver and spleen disease and hepatic rupture haemorrhage syndrome. However, the knowledge about aHEV in commercial layer chickens in Nigeria is scarce. In this study, 460 serum samples obtained from 36 apparently healthy commercial layer chicken flocks in three states (Ogun, Osun and Oyo States) of southwestern Nigeria were analysed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the presence of anti-aHEV immunoglobulin Y (IgY) antibodies. In total, the overall seroprevalence of anti-aHEV antibodies was 14.6%. The serological analysis revealed that 75% of the flocks examined were positive for anti-aHEV IgY antibodies from chickens of various ages in all three states. The percentage of the seropositive chickens in the three states varied from flock to flock ranging from 60% to 88.8% and seropositive chickens were detected at any age (24-52 weeks of age) without significant differences between the age groups. This is the first report assessing the presence of aHEV antibodies in chickens from Nigeria. The detection of anti-aHEV antibodies in commercial layer chickens in this study emphasizes the importance of serosurveillance in disease monitoring due to the economic threat posed by aHEV as a result of decreased egg production and increased mortality in affected commercial layer chicken farms. However, further studies are essential to reveal the clinical implications and to assess the real burden of aHEV in Nigeria.
禽戊型肝炎病毒（aHEV）与肝炎-脾肿大综合征、大肝大脾病和肝破裂出血综合征有关。然而，尼日利亚商业蛋鸡中 aHEV 的相关知识却很匮乏。本研究采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）对来自尼日利亚西南部三个州（奥贡州、奥孙州和奥约州）的 36 个表现健康的商业蛋鸡群中的 460 份血清样本进行了分析，以检测抗 aHEV 免疫球蛋白 Y（IgY）抗体的存在情况。总抗体阳性率为 14.6%。血清学分析表明，在所检查的所有三个州的不同年龄段的鸡群中，75%的鸡群对 aHEV IgY 抗体呈阳性。三个州的阳性鸡群比例因鸡群而异，范围从 60%到 88.8%，并且在任何年龄段（24-52 周龄）都可以检测到阳性鸡，各年龄段之间没有显著差异。这是首次评估尼日利亚鸡群中 aHEV 抗体存在情况的报告。本研究在商业蛋鸡中检测到抗 aHEV 抗体，强调了血清监测在疾病监测中的重要性，因为 aHEV 会降低鸡蛋产量并增加受感染商业蛋鸡场的死亡率，从而对经济构成威胁。然而，仍需进一步研究来揭示其临床意义并评估 aHEV 在尼日利亚的实际负担。
