Hu Xinyue, Wang Jinfeng, Wang Yinuo, Liu Libing, Miao Junjie, Ren Huan, Wang Jianchang, Xu Xiangdong
School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China, 050017.
Food Microbiology and Animal Quarantine Laboratory, Technology Center of Shijiazhuang Customs, Shijiazhuang, China, 050051.
Food Environ Virol. 2025 Mar 3;17(1):20. doi: 10.1007/s12560-025-09636-4.
Paslahepevirus balayani (hepatitis E virus) is a zoonotic pathogen, with rabbit Paslahepevirus balayani (HEV-3ra) being widely distributed among global rabbit populations. Notably, in China, rabbits constitute a significant HEV host, second only to swine. Emerging evidence suggests that HEV-3ra possesses the capability to cross species barriers and infect humans. Against this backdrop, our investigation aimed to delineate the HEV infection status and epidemiological patterns in the commercial rabbits of Hebei Province, China. We collected 386 liver and 100 fecal samples across four regions in Hebei Province. Detection of HEV RNA in these specimens was achieved by employing reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and reverse transcription nested PCR (RT-Nested PCR), focusing on the amplification of a segment of the open reading frame 2 (ORF2) and the complete genome. Among the 486 samples, 73 were tested positive for HEV RNA, resulting in an overall positive rate of 15.0%. The positive rates for liver and fecal samples were 11.7% (45/386) and 28.0% (28/100), respectively. The study successfully obtained 38 partial ORF2 sequences and 5 complete genome sequences. Sequence analysis revealed that the complete genome sequences shared 86.0-94.5% nucleotide identity with HEV-3ra sequences in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that all strains belonged to HEV-3ra and were closely related to previously reported sequences from China. This study provides the first comprehensive genomic overview of circulating HEV-3ra strains in Hebei, offering valuable insights into the infection dynamics and prevalence of HEV-3ra among commercial rabbits, which can inform public health strategies.
巴拉亚尼帕斯拉赫戊型肝炎病毒（戊型肝炎病毒）是一种人畜共患病原体，其中巴拉亚尼帕斯拉赫戊型肝炎病毒兔株（HEV-3ra）在全球兔群中广泛分布。值得注意的是，在中国，兔是戊型肝炎病毒的重要宿主，仅次于猪。新出现的证据表明，HEV-3ra具有跨越物种屏障并感染人类的能力。在此背景下，我们的调查旨在描绘中国河北省商品兔中戊型肝炎病毒的感染状况和流行病学模式。我们在河北省四个地区收集了386份肝脏样本和100份粪便样本。通过采用逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）和逆转录巢式PCR（RT-Nested PCR）检测这些样本中的戊型肝炎病毒RNA，重点扩增开放阅读框2（ORF2）的一段和完整基因组。在486份样本中，73份戊型肝炎病毒RNA检测呈阳性，总体阳性率为15.0%。肝脏和粪便样本的阳性率分别为11.7%（45/386）和28.0%（28/100）。该研究成功获得了38条部分ORF2序列和5条完整基因组序列。序列分析表明，完整基因组序列与GenBank中HEV-3ra序列的核苷酸同一性为86.0-94.5%。系统发育分析证实，所有毒株均属于HEV-3ra，且与中国先前报道的序列密切相关。本研究首次全面概述了河北省流行的HEV-3ra毒株的基因组情况，为了解HEV-3ra在商品兔中的感染动态和流行情况提供了有价值的见解，可为公共卫生策略提供参考。
