Detection of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) and Sero prevalence of HEV in wild animals and hunter's families

Abstract

Sporadic cases of hepatitis E have been reported in developed countries including Japan. The source of HEV in many cases is unknown, although zoonotic transmission has been suggested. In this study, HEV strains detected from wild boars have been characterized by RT-PCR and sequencing and an antibody to HEV has been measured in Japanese wild boars and hunters families. Of the 91-wild boars, 25 strains were seropositive for HEV, and eleven were positive for HEV-RNA. Sequencing analysis showed that HEV detected from wild boars in Aichi belong to genotype IV cluster. These results indicate that HEV is widespread in the wild boar of this area and that wild boar may serve as reservoirs for HEV infection.