Detection of the negative strand of hepatitis e virus rna in the livers of experimentally infected rhesus Monkeys: Evidence for viral replication

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a waterborne and foodborne pathogen largely spread around the world. HEV is responsible for acute hepatitis in humans and it is also diffused in domestic and wild animals. In particular, domestic pigs represent the main reservoir of the infection and particular attention should be paid to the consumption of raw and undercooked meat as a possible zoonotic vehicle of the pathogen. Several studies have reported the presence of HEV in wild boar circulating in European countries with similar prevalence rates. In this study, we evaluated the occurrence of HEV in wild boar hunted in specific areas of Tuscany. Sampling was performed by collecting liver samples and also by swabbing the carcasses at the slaughterhouses following hunting activities. Our data indicated that 8/67 (12%) of liver samples and 4/67 (6%) of swabs were positive for HEV RNA. The presence of HEV genome on swabs indicates the possible cross-contamination of carcass surfaces during slaughtering procedures. Altogether, our data indicated that it is essential to promote health education programmes for hunters and consumers to limit the diffusion of the pathogen to humans.

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Hepatitis E Virus RNA‐Dependent RNA Polymerase is Involved in RNA Replication and Infectious Particle Production

Hepatology ◽

10.1002/hep.32100 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Noémie Oechslin ◽

Nathalie Da Silva ◽

Dagmara Szkolnicka ◽

François‐Xavier Cantrelle ◽

Xavier Hanoulle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rna Polymerase ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Particle Production ◽

Rna Replication ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Rna Dependent Rna Polymerase ◽

Infectious Particle ◽

Virus Rna

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Hepatitis E and Pregnancy: An Unholy Alliance Unmasked from Kashmir, India

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13071329 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1329

Author(s):

Mohammad Sultan Khuroo

Keyword(s):

Viral Replication ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Polymerase Activity ◽

Severe Liver ◽

Reading Frame ◽

Multiple Factors ◽

Severe Liver Disease ◽

Development And Management

The adverse relationship between viral hepatitis and pregnancy in developing countries had been interpreted as a reflection of retrospectively biased hospital-based data collection by the West. However, the discovery of hepatitis E virus (HEV) as the etiological agent of an epidemic of non-A, non-B hepatitis in Kashmir, and the documenting of the increased incidence and severity of hepatitis E in pregnancy via a house-to-house survey, unmasked this unholy alliance. In the Hepeviridae family, HEV-genotype (gt)1 from genus Orthohepevirus A has a unique open reading frame (ORF)4-encoded protein which enhances viral polymerase activity and viral replication. The epidemics caused by HEV-gt1, but not any other Orthohepevirus A genotype, show an adverse relationship with pregnancy in humans. The pathogenesis of the association is complex and at present not well understood. Possibly multiple factors play a role in causing severe liver disease in the pregnant women including infection and damage to the maternal-fetal interface by HEV-gt1; vertical transmission of HEV to fetus causing severe fetal/neonatal hepatitis; and combined viral and hormone related immune dysfunction of diverse nature in the pregnant women, promoting viral replication. Management is multidisciplinary and needs a close watch for the development and management of acute liver failure. (ALF). Preliminary data suggest beneficial maternal outcomes by early termination of pregnancy in patients with lower grades of encephalopathy.

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Characterization of a Strain of Infectious Hepatitis E Virus Isolated from Sewage in an Area where Hepatitis E Is Not Endemic

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.64.11.4485-4488.1998 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 64 (11) ◽

pp. 4485-4488 ◽

Cited By ~ 92

Author(s):

Sonia Pina ◽

Joan Jofre ◽

Suzanne U. Emerson ◽

Robert H. Purcell ◽

Rosina Girones

Keyword(s):

Sequence Analysis ◽

Positive Result ◽

Asian Indian ◽

Rhesus Monkeys ◽

Biochemical Parameters ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Infectious Hepatitis ◽

Viral Particles

ABSTRACT Raw sewage samples from an area where hepatitis E is not endemic (Barcelona, Spain) were analyzed by reverse transcriptase-PCR followed by nested PCR. One of the 37 tested samples showed a positive result for hepatitis E virus (HEV). The detected strain was amplified by inoculation into rhesus monkeys, and the course of the infection was studied by analyzing serological and biochemical parameters and by monitoring the presence of HEV in serum and feces. Fecal suspensions from the rhesus monkeys were used as the source of viral particles for sequence analysis. Eighty percent of the genome of the isolated strain, named BCN, was sequenced and found to be phylogenetically related to Asian (Indian) strains, with a 98% nucleotide identity with an isolate from Madras, India. Since this was a single isolation we cannot conclude that HEV is regularly present in the sewage. However, the finding of viable HEV in sewage has implications for contamination of the environment and shellfish by HEV and must be considered in the diagnosis of viral hepatitis in regions of nonendemic hepatitis.

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