scholarly journals Identification of Hepatitis E Virus in the Feces of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1841
Author(s):  
Zsófia Lanszki ◽  
Kornélia Kurucz ◽  
Safia Zeghbib ◽  
Gábor Kemenesi ◽  
József Lanszki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis E Virus ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Red Fox ◽  
Common Vole ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dietary Origin

Orthohepeviruses (HEV) can infect a wide range of animals, showing a relatively strict host specificity; however, its zoonotic potential, natural transmission in the wildlife are less known. Several new HEV-like viruses have been identified in various animal species, including carnivores; however, the phylogenetic relationship among these viruses is poorly resolved, since some of them were known as rodent-related so far. The red fox, the most widespread carnivore worldwide, is a known reservoir of several viruses that transmit from wildlife to humans or domestic animals; they might have a defined role in the circulation of rodent-borne HEV. In this study, we performed a HEV survey by heminested RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription PCR) on red fox fecal samples to investigate the presence of HEV in red foxes living in natural conditions, and to explore the origin of the virus via phylogenetic analysis. Out of the 26 investigated samples, HEV RNA was identified in one sample. Following Sanger sequencing, the novel sequence displayed 91% identity on the nucleotide level with recently published European common vole-HEV derived from Microtus arvalis. In contrast, it shared 85% nucleotide similarity with HEV strains described previously in red foxes. Our results strongly support “the dietary-origin” of unclassified HEV-like strains described from predators that usually prey on rodents.

scholarly journals An Optimized High-Throughput Neutralization Assay for Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Involving Detection of Secreted Porf2

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Liu ◽  
Wei Cai ◽  
Xin Yin ◽  
Zimin Tang ◽  
Guiping Wen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
Hepatitis E Virus ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
Neutralization Assay ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Specific Antibodies ◽  
Neutralizing Activity ◽  
Elisa Kit ◽  
Neutralizing Capacity ◽  
Potential Threshold

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a common cause of acute hepatitis worldwide. Current methods for evaluating the neutralizing activity of HEV-specific antibodies include immunofluorescence focus assays (IFAs) and real-time PCR, which are insensitive and operationally complicated. Here, we developed a high-throughput neutralization assay by measuring secreted pORF2 levels using an HEV antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit based on the highly replicating HEV genotype (gt) 3 strain Kernow. We evaluated the neutralizing activity of HEV-specific antibodies and the sera of vaccinated individuals (n = 15) by traditional IFA and the novel assay simultaneously. A linear regression analysis shows that there is a high degree of correlation between the two assays. Furthermore, the anti-HEV IgG levels exhibited moderate correlation with the neutralizing titers of the sera of vaccinated individuals, indicating that immunization with gt 1 can protect against gt 3 Kernow infection. We then determined specificity of the novel assay and the potential threshold of neutralizing capacity using anti-HEV IgG positive sera (n = 27) and anti-HEV IgG negative sera (n = 23). The neutralizing capacity of anti-HEV IgG positive sera was significantly stronger than that of anti-HEV IgG negative. In addition, ROC curve analysis shows that the potential threshold of neutralizing capacity of sera was 8.07, and the sensitivity and specificity of the novel assay was 88.6% and 100%, respectively. Our results suggest that the neutralization assay using the antigen ELISA kit could be a useful tool for HEV clinical research.

scholarly journals A Novel Hepe-Like Virus from Farmed Giant Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Dong ◽  
Tao Hu ◽  
Qingyuan Liu ◽  
Chen Li ◽  
Yani Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis E Virus ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Macrobrachium Rosenbergii ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
Freshwater Prawn ◽  
Giant Freshwater Prawn ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Family ◽  
Virus Genomes

The family Hepeviridae includes several positive-stranded RNA viruses, which infect a wide range of mammalian species, chicken, and trout. However, few hepatitis E viruses (HEVs) have been characterized from invertebrates. In this study, a hepevirus, tentatively named Crustacea hepe-like virus 1 (CHEV1), from the economically important crustacean, the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, was characterized. The complete genome consisted of 7750 nucleotides and had a similar structure to known hepatitis E virus genomes. Phylogenetic analyses suggested it might be a novel hepe-like virus within the family Hepeviridae. To our knowledge, this is the first hepe-like virus characterized from crustaceans.

Hepatitis E virus

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. J. Meng
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis E Virus ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Efficient Cell Culture System ◽  
The Family ◽  
Avian Hev ◽  
Animal Strains

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a small, non-enveloped, single-strand, positive-sense RNA virus of approximately 7.2 kb in size. HEV is classified in the family Hepeviridae consisting of four recognized major genotypes that infect humans and other animals. Genotypes 1 and 2 HEV are restricted to humans and often associated with large outbreaks and epidemics in developing countries with poor sanitation conditions, whereas genotypes 3 and 4 HEV infect humans, pigs and other animal species and are responsible for sporadic cases of hepatitis E in both developing and industrialized countries. The avian HEV associated with Hepatitis-Splenomegaly syndrome in chickens is genetically and antigenically related to mammalian HEV, and likely represents a new genus in the family. There exist three open reading frames in HEV genome: ORF1 encodes non-structural proteins, ORF2 encodes the capsid protein, and the ORF3 encodes a small phosphoprotein. ORF2 and ORF3 are translated from a single bicistronic mRNA, and overlap each other but neither overlaps ORF1. Due to the lack of an efficient cell culture system and a practical animal model for HEV, the mechanisms of HEV replication and pathogenesis are poorly understood. The recent identification and characterization of animal strains of HEV from pigs and chickens and the demonstrated ability of cross-species infection by these animal strains raise potential public health concerns for zoonotic HEV transmission. It has been shown that the genotypes 3 and 4 HEV strains from pigs can infect humans, and vice versa. Accumulating evidence indicated that hepatitis E is a zoonotic disease, and swine and perhaps other animal species are reservoirs for HEV. A vaccine against HEV is not yet available.

scholarly journals Virulence factor activity relationships for hepatitis E and Cryptosporidium

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S55-S63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Fayer ◽  
Palmer Orlandi ◽  
Michael L. Perdue
Keyword(s):  
Host Cell ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Hepatitis E Virus ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Immune Status ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Factor Activity ◽  
Infectious Dose

The hepatitis E virus and Cryptosporidium are waterborne pathogens, each consisting of distinct taxa, genotypes and isolates that infect humans, nonhuman animal species or both. Some are associated with disease, others are not. Factors contributing to disease are extremely complicated, possibly involving differences in one or more traits associated with an organism's taxon, genotype or isolate and its infectious dose, and age or condition, as well as the host's physiology and immune status. Potential virulence factors have not yet been identified for HEV. Putative virulence factors for Cryptosporidium might be found in recently recognized genes involved in processes such as excystation, adherence to host cells, invasion, intracellular maintenance and host cell destruction.

Serological and Molecular Investigation of Swine Hepatitis E Virus in Pigs Raised in Southern Italy

2015 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 2099-2102 ◽  
Author(s):  
NICOLA COSTANZO ◽  
ELEONORA SARNO ◽  
VINCENZO PERETTI ◽  
LUCIA CIAMBRONE ◽  
FRANCESCO CASALINUOVO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis E Virus ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Oral Route ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Viral Genomes ◽  
Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽  
Significant Difference

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a common acute hepatitis transmitted by the fecal-oral route. In developed countries, the virus has a zoonotic potential, and domestic pigs and wild boars are considered main reservoirs. To assess the prevalence of HEV-positive animals in the Calabria region (southern Italy) on a serological and molecular level, a total of 216 autochthonous healthy pigs (Apulo-Calabrese breed) were sampled. Both sera and feces were collected. Pigs were grouped based on age: 117 pigs <6 months and 99 pigs >6 months. By using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system, a total of 173 (80%) of the 216 pigs tested seropositive. In all sampled farms (n = 8), pigs with antibodies (immunoglobulin G) against HEV were detected at a level higher than 60%, with a significant difference among age groups (P < 0.0001). Moreover, 16 fattening pigs were found to be nested reverse transcription PCR positive and thus to shed viral genomes in their feces. These positive findings resulted in a prevalence of 48.4% on the farm level (16 of 35 pigs) and an overall prevalence of 7.4% at the animal level (16 of 216 pigs). Based on the present study, HEV seems to circulate among the autochthonous domestic pig population of southern Italy with a low sharing rate. Further studies exploring the origin of infection are needed to minimize the risk of human exposure and to reduce consequences for public health.

scholarly journals Evidence that the Genomic RNA of Hepatitis E Virus Is Capped

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 8848-8850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yamina Kabrane-Lazizi ◽  
Xiang-Jin Meng ◽  
Robert H. Purcell ◽  
Suzanne U. Emerson
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Hepatitis E Virus ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
Genomic Rna ◽  
Pcr Assay ◽  
Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽  
Replication Strategy ◽  
Positive Sense ◽  
Rna Genome

ABSTRACT Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an unclassified virus with a positive-sense RNA genome and an undefined replication strategy. In order to determine whether the HEV genome is capped or not, we developed a reverse transcription-PCR assay that is based on the ability of a monoclonal antibody to recognize 7-methylguanosine (m7G). Antibody to m7G bound RNA extracted from virions of two different HEV genotypes. The cap analog competitively inhibited the binding of virion RNAs, demonstrating that HEV has a capped RNA genome.

scholarly journals Identification of a novel variant of hepatitis E virus in Austria: sequence, phylogenetic and serological analysis

2000 ◽  
Vol 81 (12) ◽  
pp. 2885-2890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald C. Worm ◽  
George G. Schlauder ◽  
Herbert Wurzer ◽  
Isa K. Mushahwar
Keyword(s):  
Recombinant Proteins ◽  
Hepatitis E Virus ◽  
Clinical Presentation ◽  
Acute Viral Hepatitis ◽  
Late Phase ◽  
Hepatitis E ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Novel Variant ◽  
Acute Phase Serum

We isolated a novel hepatitis E virus (HEV-Au1) variant from a patient in Austria suffering from acute viral hepatitis, who had no known risk factors for acquiring hepatitis E. The clinical presentation and initial serological findings have been reported previously. In this paper we report the results of sequence and phylogenetic analysis of HEV products from viral RNA isolated from acute phase serum. The results show that HEV-Au1 is significantly divergent from other HEV isolates. The nucleotide identity of analysed fragments from the novel isolate ranges from 76·6 to 78·4% when compared to isolates from endemic regions and 84·6 to 87·9% when compared to isolates from non-endemic regions. Divergent results were obtained when serum samples taken from the convalescent phase of disease were tested with three different immunoassays (EIAs). An EIA based on United States isolate-specific peptides showed enhanced reactivity whereas EIAs based on recombinant proteins derived from prototype HEV strains from Burma and Mexico were unable to detect antibodies to HEV (anti-HEV) in late phase serum. The findings verify the presence of an additional HEV variant in an industrialized country and provide information about possible problems in detecting anti-HEV.

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