Presence of Hepatitis E Virus in a RED Deer (Cervus elaphus) Population in Central Italy

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a singlestrand RNA virus that causes an acute viral hepatitis in humans. Among its eight recognized genotypes, HEV-3 and HEV-4 are zoonotic, infecting humans, pigs and wild boars. Recently, HEV-3 has been also detected in red deer, which represents another reservoir of HEV. Consumption of raw pork products (mainly liver sausages), undercooked wild boar meat, raw wild boar liver and deer meat has been responsible for foodborne HEV human worldwide. From November 2018 to March 2019, liver samples collected from 97 wild boars hunted in Emilia-Romagna region (Northern Italy) were tested for HEV RNA. The hunting area included two territories for an extension of 33 km2, named A (about 13 km2, natural park, deciduous wood) and B (about 20 km2, cultivated fields in proximity of a river) areas. Distance between the two areas ranged between 8 to 10 km. A total of 73 wild boars were hunted in area A, and 24 in area B. HEV RNA was detected by Realtime RT–PCR in 23/73 liver samples of wild boars living in area A only (31.5% - 95% CI: 22.0-42.8%). The HEV sequences (n=13) clustered within genotype 3. The majority of positives belonged to animals < 12 months (12/25; 48%), followed by subadults (13-24 months) (7/16; 43.8%) and adults (4/32; 12.5%). This difference was found to be statistically significant (p=0.0024). In absence of pig farms, the restriction of HEV-positive animals to a well-defined territory of 13 km2 (Boschi di Carrega Regional Park) could hypothetically be related to the presence of red deer (Cervus elaphus), which lived in area A at the beginning of the hunting season. Further studies are needed to confirm or deny our hypothesis.

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Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus in Moose (Alces alces), Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus), and Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) from Norway

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13020224 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 224

Author(s):

Carlos Sacristán ◽

Knut Madslien ◽

Irene Sacristán ◽

Siv Klevar ◽

Carlos G. das Neves

Keyword(s):

Cervus Elaphus ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Red Deer ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Capreolus Capreolus ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Wild Ungulates ◽

Ovibos Moschatus ◽

Wild Reindeer

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a major cause of viral hepatitis worldwide, is considered an emerging foodborne zoonosis in Europe. Pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) and wild boars (S. scrofa) are recognized as important HEV reservoirs. Additionally, HEV infection and exposure have been described in cervids. In Norway, HEV has been identified in pigs and humans; however, little is known regarding its presence in wild ungulates in the country. We used a species-independent double-antigen sandwich ELISA to detect antibodies against HEV in the sera of 715 wild ungulates from Norway, including 164 moose (Alces alces), 186 wild Eurasian tundra reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus), 177 red deer (Cervus elaphus), 86 European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and 102 muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus). The overall seroprevalence was 12.3% (88/715). Wild reindeer had the highest seropositivity (23.1%, 43/186), followed by moose (19.5%, 32/164), muskoxen (5.9%, 6/102), and red deer (4%, 7/177). All roe deer were negative. According to our results, HEV is circulating in wild ungulates in Norway. The high seroprevalence observed in wild reindeer and moose indicates that these species may be potential reservoirs of HEV. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of HEV exposure in reindeer from Europe and in muskoxen worldwide.

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Screening for hepatitis E virus genotype 3 in red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) and fallow deer ( Dama dama ), Portugal, 2018–2020

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases ◽

10.1111/tbed.14427 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

DFdSD Moraes ◽

P Lopez‐Lopez ◽

JD Palmeira ◽

RT Torres ◽

A Rivero‐Juarez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cervus Elaphus ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Red Deer ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Fallow Deer ◽

Dama Dama ◽

Genotype 3 ◽

Virus Genotype

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High levels of Hepatitis E virus in wild boar hunted for domestic consumption in Central Italy

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/cky214.003 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (suppl_4) ◽

Author(s):

P De Santis ◽

S Di Pasquale ◽

G La Rosa ◽

D De Medici ◽

G Micarelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wild Boar ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Central Italy ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Domestic Consumption

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Quantification and genetic diversity of Hepatitis E virus in wild boar (Sus scrofa) hunted for domestic consumption in Central Italy

Food Microbiology ◽

10.1016/j.fm.2019.02.005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 82 ◽

pp. 194-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Simona Di Pasquale ◽

Paola De Santis ◽

Giuseppina La Rosa ◽

Kevin Di Domenico ◽

Marcello Iaconelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Wild Boar ◽

Sus Scrofa ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Central Italy ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Domestic Consumption

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Prevalence and phylogenetic analysis of hepatitis E virus in pigs, wild boars, roe deer, red deer and moose in Lithuania

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica ◽

10.1186/s13028-018-0367-7 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Ugne Spancerniene ◽

Juozas Grigas ◽

Jurate Buitkuviene ◽

Judita Zymantiene ◽

Vida Juozaitiene ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analysis ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Red Deer ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Wild Boars

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Transmitter-equipped darts in a protocol for chemically immobilizing free-ranging red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Central Italy

Italian Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.4081/ijas.2009.93 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 93-102

Author(s):

Federico Morandi ◽

Sandro Nicoloso

Keyword(s):

Cervus Elaphus ◽

Red Deer ◽

Central Italy ◽

Free Ranging

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High prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus antibodies among blood donors in central Italy, February to March 2014

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/1560-7917.es.2016.21.30.30299 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 21 (30) ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Claudia Lucarelli ◽

Enea Spada ◽

Gloria Taliani ◽

Paola Chionne ◽

Elisabetta Madonna ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Dietary Habits ◽

Central Italy ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Genotype 3 ◽

Recent Infection ◽

Assay Sensitivity ◽

Prevalence Rate Ratio

Prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies is highly variable in developed countries, which seems partly due to differences in assay sensitivity. Using validated sensitive assays, we tested 313 blood donors attending a hospital transfusion unit in central Italy in January and February 2014 for anti-HEV IgG and IgM and HEV RNA. Data on HEV exposure were collected from all donors. Overall anti-HEV IgG prevalence was 49% (153/313). Eating raw dried pig-liver sausage was the only independent predictor of HEV infection (adjusted prevalence rate ratio = 2.14; 95% confidence interval: 1.23–3.74). Three donors were positive for either anti-HEV IgM (n = 2; 0.6%) or HEV RNA (n = 2; 0.6%); they were completely asymptomatic, without alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities. Of the two HEV RNA-positive donors (both harbouring genotype 3), one was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-positive, the other was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-negative. The third donor was positive for anti-HEV IgG and IgM but HEV RNA-negative. HEV infection is therefore hyperendemic among blood donors (80% men 18–64 years-old) from central Italy and associated with local dietary habits. Nearly 1% of donors have acute or recent infection, implying potential transmission to blood recipients. Neither ALT nor anti-HEV IgM testing seems useful to prevent transfusion-transmitted HEV infection.

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