Markers for Ongoing or Previous Hepatitis E Virus Infection Are as Common in Wild Ungulates as in Humans in Sweden
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a human pathogen with zoonotic spread, infecting both domestic and wild animals. About 17% of the Swedish population is immune to HEV, but few cases are reported annually, indicating that most infections are subclinical. However, clinical hepatitis E may also be overlooked...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Viruses |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/8/9/259 |
| _version_ | 1818058930570395648 |
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| author | Anette Roth Jay Lin Lars Magnius Marie Karlsson Sándór Belák Frederik Widén Heléne Norder |
| author_facet | Anette Roth Jay Lin Lars Magnius Marie Karlsson Sándór Belák Frederik Widén Heléne Norder |
| author_sort | Anette Roth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a human pathogen with zoonotic spread, infecting both domestic and wild animals. About 17% of the Swedish population is immune to HEV, but few cases are reported annually, indicating that most infections are subclinical. However, clinical hepatitis E may also be overlooked. For identified cases, the source of infection is mostly unknown. In order to identify whether HEV may be spread from wild game, the prevalence of markers for past and/or ongoing infection was investigated in sera and stool samples collected from 260 hunted Swedish wild ungulates. HEV markers were found in 43 (17%) of the animals. The most commonly infected animal was moose (Alces alces) with 19 out of 69 animals (28%) showing HEV markers, followed by wild boar (Sus scrofa) with 21 out of 139 animals (15%), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) with 2 out of 30 animals, red deer (Cervus elaphus) with 1 out of 15 animals, and fallow deer (Dama dama) 0 out of 7 animals. Partial open reading frame 1 (ORF1) of the viral genomes from the animals were sequenced and compared with those from 14 endemic human cases. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that three humans were infected with HEV strains similar to those from wild boar. These results indicate that wild animals may be a source of transmission to humans and could be an unrecognized public health concern. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T13:08:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c4ab72885382469399ecd8db064b1cb2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T13:08:27Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-c4ab72885382469399ecd8db064b1cb22022-12-22T01:47:46ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152016-09-018925910.3390/v8090259v8090259Markers for Ongoing or Previous Hepatitis E Virus Infection Are as Common in Wild Ungulates as in Humans in SwedenAnette Roth0Jay Lin1Lars Magnius2Marie Karlsson3Sándór Belák4Frederik Widén5Heléne Norder6Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, 413 46 Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Virology, Microbiology, National Veterinary Institute, 756 51 Uppsala, SwedenUlf Lundahl Foundation, 116 21 Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, 413 46 Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Biomedical Science and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 756 51 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Virology, Microbiology, National Veterinary Institute, 756 51 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, 413 46 Gothenburg, SwedenHepatitis E virus (HEV) is a human pathogen with zoonotic spread, infecting both domestic and wild animals. About 17% of the Swedish population is immune to HEV, but few cases are reported annually, indicating that most infections are subclinical. However, clinical hepatitis E may also be overlooked. For identified cases, the source of infection is mostly unknown. In order to identify whether HEV may be spread from wild game, the prevalence of markers for past and/or ongoing infection was investigated in sera and stool samples collected from 260 hunted Swedish wild ungulates. HEV markers were found in 43 (17%) of the animals. The most commonly infected animal was moose (Alces alces) with 19 out of 69 animals (28%) showing HEV markers, followed by wild boar (Sus scrofa) with 21 out of 139 animals (15%), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) with 2 out of 30 animals, red deer (Cervus elaphus) with 1 out of 15 animals, and fallow deer (Dama dama) 0 out of 7 animals. Partial open reading frame 1 (ORF1) of the viral genomes from the animals were sequenced and compared with those from 14 endemic human cases. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that three humans were infected with HEV strains similar to those from wild boar. These results indicate that wild animals may be a source of transmission to humans and could be an unrecognized public health concern.http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/8/9/259hepatitis E viruszoonosismoosewild boardeerphylogenetic analysiswild animalsSweden |
| spellingShingle | Anette Roth Jay Lin Lars Magnius Marie Karlsson Sándór Belák Frederik Widén Heléne Norder Markers for Ongoing or Previous Hepatitis E Virus Infection Are as Common in Wild Ungulates as in Humans in Sweden Viruses hepatitis E virus zoonosis moose wild boar deer phylogenetic analysis wild animals Sweden |
| title | Markers for Ongoing or Previous Hepatitis E Virus Infection Are as Common in Wild Ungulates as in Humans in Sweden |
| title_full | Markers for Ongoing or Previous Hepatitis E Virus Infection Are as Common in Wild Ungulates as in Humans in Sweden |
| title_fullStr | Markers for Ongoing or Previous Hepatitis E Virus Infection Are as Common in Wild Ungulates as in Humans in Sweden |
| title_full_unstemmed | Markers for Ongoing or Previous Hepatitis E Virus Infection Are as Common in Wild Ungulates as in Humans in Sweden |
| title_short | Markers for Ongoing or Previous Hepatitis E Virus Infection Are as Common in Wild Ungulates as in Humans in Sweden |
| title_sort | markers for ongoing or previous hepatitis e virus infection are as common in wild ungulates as in humans in sweden |
| topic | hepatitis E virus zoonosis moose wild boar deer phylogenetic analysis wild animals Sweden |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/8/9/259 |
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