Development of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays Using 2 Truncated ORF2 Proteins for Detection of IgG Antibodies Against Hepatitis E Virus

The most important wildlife species in the epidemiology of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections are wild boars, which are also the main reservoir of the virus in a sylvatic environment. The aim of the study was a serological and molecular assessment of the prevalence of HEV infections in wild boars in Poland. In total, 470 pairs of samples (wild boar blood and livers) and 433 samples of faeces were tested. An ELISA (ID.vet, France) was used for serological analysis. For the detection of HEV RNA, real-time (RT)-qPCR was employed. The presence of specific anti-HEV IgG antibodies was found in 232 (49.4%; 95%CI: 44.7–54%) sera, with regional differences observed in the seroprevalence of infections. HEV RNA was detected in 57 (12.1%, 95%CI: 9.3–15.4%) livers and in 27 (6.2%, 95%CI: 4.1–8.9%) faecal samples, with the viral load ranging from 1.4 to 1.7 × 1011 G.C./g and 38 to 9.3 × 107 G.C./mL, respectively. A correlation between serological and molecular results of testing of wild boars infected with HEV was shown. HEV infections in wild boars appeared to be common in Poland.

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Community-Based Seroepidemiological Survey of Hepatitis E Virus Infection in Catalonia, Spain

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology ◽

10.1128/cvi.00255-06 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 1328-1332 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

Maria Buti ◽

Àngela Domínguez ◽

Pere Plans ◽

Rossend Jardí ◽

Mélani Schaper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virus Infection ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Multiple Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Population Sample ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Bivariate Analysis ◽

Igg Antibodies ◽

Clinical Variables ◽

Minor Surgery

ABSTRACT The objective of the study was to investigate the prevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in a population sample from Catalonia and to analyze the demographic and clinical variables associated with the presence of these antibodies. A total of 1,280 subjects between 15 and 74 years of age were selected randomly from urban and rural areas. Data for sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected by using a questionnaire. IgG antibodies to HEV were determined by an immunoenzymatic method. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for studied variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine which variables were independently associated with the prevalence of HEV infection. Anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 96 (7.3%) of the 1,280 samples analyzed. The prevalence of antibodies was greater among males (7.8%) than among women (7%) and increased with age for both sexes, from 3% among subjects 15 to 24 years of age to 12% among subjects ≥65 years of age. Bivariate analysis of the sociodemographic and clinical variables showed an association between the prevalence of hepatitis E virus infection and minor surgery (OR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.24 to 3.11), abdominal surgery (OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.12 to 2.73), and, for women, being uniparous or multiparous (OR, 2.84; 95% CI, 1.19 to 6.79). The multivariate analysis showed an association with minor surgery only (OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.70). In conclusion, anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 7.3% of the Catalan population. The seroprevalence of anti-HEV antibodies increased with age and was associated with previous minor surgery.

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Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus among blood donors on Corsica, France, 2017

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/1560-7917.es.2020.25.5.1900336 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Lisandru Capai ◽

Nathanaël Hozé ◽

Jacques Chiaroni ◽

Sylvie Gross ◽

Rachid Djoudi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Acute Viral Hepatitis ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Igg Antibodies ◽

Zoonotic Pathogen ◽

Force Of Infection ◽

Hyperendemic Area ◽

Annual Probability ◽

Significant Difference

Background Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen and an important cause of acute viral hepatitis in European countries. Corsica Island has been previously identified as a hyperendemic area for HEV. Aim Our aim was to characterise the prevalence and titres of IgG antibodies to HEV among blood donors on Corsica and establish a model of the annual force of infection. Methods Between September 2017 and January 2018, 2,705 blood donations were tested for anti-HEV IgG using the Wantai HEV IgG enzyme immunoassay. Results The overall seroprevalence was 56.1%. In multivariate analysis, seroprevalence was higher in men than in women (60.0% vs 52.2%; p < 0.01), increased with age and was significantly higher among donors born on Corsica (60.6% vs 53.2%; p < 0.01). No significant difference was observed between the five districts of the island. IgG anti-HEV titres were mostly low (70% of positive donors had titres < 3 IU/mL). In Corsican natives, increasing seroprevalence by age could be explained by models capturing a loss of immunity (annual probability of infection: 4.5%; duration of immunity: 55 years) or by age-specific probabilities of infection (3.8% for children, 1.3% for adults). Conclusion We confirmed the high HEV seroprevalence on Corsica and identified three aspects that should be further explored: (i) the epidemiology in those younger than 18 years, (ii) common sources of contamination, in particular drinking water, that may explain the wide exposure of the population, and (iii) the actual protection afforded by the low IgG titres observed and the potential susceptibility to secondary HEV infection.

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A Cross-Species Transmission of a Camel-Derived Genotype 8 Hepatitis E Virus to Rabbits

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens10111374 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1374

Author(s):

Wenjing Zhang ◽

Yasushi Ami ◽

Yuriko Suzaki ◽

Michiyo Kataoka ◽

Naokazu Takeda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neutralizing Antibodies ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Igg Antibodies ◽

Zoonotic Infection ◽

Significant Elevation ◽

Dromedary Camels ◽

Cynomolgus Monkeys ◽

Natural Reservoir ◽

Bactrian Camels

Novel genotypes of hepatitis E virus (HEV), i.e., HEV-5, HEV-7, and HEV-8, have been identified in wild boar, dromedary camels, and Bactrian camels, respectively, and they transmit to cynomolgus monkeys in a trans-species manner, raising the potential for zoonotic infection. Rabbits are the natural reservoir for rabbit HEV, but they are also susceptible to HEV-3 and HEV-4. It has been unknown whether rabbits are susceptible to HEV-5, HEV-7, and HEV-8. To investigate the infectivity of novel HEVs in rabbits and to assess whether rabbits are appropriate animal models for these HEVs, we inoculated Japanese white rabbits with HEV-5, HEV-7, and HEV-8, respectively. We observed that viral RNA was present in the fecal specimens of the HEV-8-inoculated rabbits and anti-HEV IgG antibodies were present in its sera, although anti-HEV IgM was undetectable and no significant elevation of ALT was observed. These results indicated that HEV-8 crossed species and infected the rabbits. No evidence for replication was observed in HEV-5 and HEV-7, suggesting that rabbits are not susceptible to these genotypes. The antibodies elicited in the HEV-8-infected rabbits did not protect them from the rabbit HEV challenge, suggesting that the antigenicity differs between HEV-8 and rabbit HEV. Antigenic analyses demonstrated that anti-HEV-8 antibodies reacted more strongly with homologous HEV-8 virus-like particles (VLPs) compared to heterologous rabbit HEV VLPs, but anti-rabbit HEV antibody had similar reactivity to the VLPs of rabbit HEV and HEV-8, suggesting that HEV-8 lacks some epitope(s) that exist in rabbit HEV and induced the neutralizing antibodies against rabbit HEV.

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Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus in Forestry Workers from Trentino-Alto Adige Region (Northern Italy)

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens9070568 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 568

Author(s):

Marina Monini ◽

Fabio Ostanello ◽

Alessandra Dominicis ◽

Valentina Tagliapietra ◽

Gabriele Vaccari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Northern Italy ◽

Cumulative Exposure ◽

Control Group ◽

Igg Antibodies ◽

Elisa Kit ◽

Forestry Workers ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Older Subjects

People with some occupational or recreational activities, such as hunters and veterinarians, may have increased risk to be infected by the hepatitis E virus (HEV). The aim of the present study was to establish whether forestry workers could be considered at a higher risk of HEV infection than a control group. One hundred and fifty sera from forestry workers and a control group of 85 sera were analysed by anti-HEV IgG antibodies detection using a commercial ELISA kit. The anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence was 14% for forestry workers and 9.4% for the control group. Comparing the risk of HEV infection in the two groups, there was no difference in the odds ratio. However, the seroprevalence in older subjects was higher in the forestry workers than in the control group. Two sera from forestry workers were also positive for anti-HEV IgM, and, in one of them, HEV-RNA was detected. Our findings showed an increase of seroprevalence with age, which is likely to reflect cumulative exposure to HEV over time. The occupation of forestry workers did not seem to be associated with a higher risk of HEV infection. The study provided new insights into the risk of acquiring HEV in occupational exposure workers with open-air activities.

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Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence in patients with chronic hepatitis C at a university hospital in Brazil

Future Virology ◽

10.2217/fvl-2020-0042 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mariana Cavalheiro Magri ◽

Caroline Manchiero ◽

Bianca Peixoto Dantas ◽

Arielle Karen da Silva Nunes ◽

Gerusa Maria Figueiredo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Hepatitis ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Chronic Hepatitis C ◽

Hepatitis E Virus ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

University Hospital ◽

Model Assessment ◽

Igg Antibodies ◽

Homeostasis Model Assessment ◽

The Relationship

Aim: We investigated the prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies in patients with chronic hepatitis C and the relationship with liver injury stage. Materials & methods: In total, 451 patients were included and the presence of anti-HEV antibodies was evaluated by ELISA. Results: Anti-HEV IgG antibodies were detected in 45 (10.0%) patients and anti-HEV IgM were detected in two IgG-positive patients (4.4%). The distributions of liver fibrosis, steatosis, inflammatory activity, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and liver enzyme levels were similar between HEV-positive and HEV-negative patients. However, HEV-positive patients had a higher mean age (p = 0.030). The seroprevalence by age group increased from 2.2 (18–30 years) to 53.3% (>60 years). HEV infection was not related to advanced fibrosis. Conclusion: This investigation showed that the seroprevalence of HEV among patients with chronic hepatitis C is similar to that of blood donors in the same region.

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