Detection and genetic characterization of hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 subtype c in wild boars in Italy

Arch Virol. 2016 Oct;161(10):2829-34. doi: 10.1007/s00705-016-2964-y. Epub 2016 Jul 8.

Abstract

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) was detected in stools collected from wild boars in Italy, with an overall prevalence of 1.5 % (3/196). The sequence of a ~3.0-kb portion at the 3' end of the genome of one such strain, HEV/WB/P6-15/ITA, was determined. In the full-length ORF2, which encodes the capsid protein, the virus was genetically closest to wild boar and human HEV strains currently classified as genotype 3 subtype c. Interestingly, the 3' end of ORF2 of the WB/P6-15/ITA matched the 340-nucleotide (nt) sequence (94.0 % nt identity) of the human strain PeGe, identified in 2015 from a patient with acute hepatitis E in Genoa, Italy, suggesting that similar HEV strains are circulating in the same geographical setting in humans and animals.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Capsid Proteins / genetics
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Feces / virology
  • Genotype*
  • Hepatitis E / epidemiology
  • Hepatitis E / veterinary*
  • Hepatitis E / virology
  • Hepatitis E virus / classification
  • Hepatitis E virus / genetics*
  • Hepatitis E virus / isolation & purification*
  • Italy / epidemiology
  • Molecular Epidemiology
  • Phylogeny
  • Prevalence
  • RNA, Viral / genetics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sequence Homology
  • Sus scrofa / virology*
  • Swine
  • Swine Diseases / epidemiology
  • Swine Diseases / virology*

Substances

  • Capsid Proteins
  • RNA, Viral