Evidence that Rodents Are a Reservoir of Hepatitis E Virus for Humans in Nepal
ABSTRACT Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important cause of enterically transmitted hepatitis in developing countries. Sporadic autochthonous cases of hepatitis E have been reported recently in the United States and other industrialized countries. The source of HEV infection in these cases is unknown;...
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crasmicro:10.1128/jcm.40.12.4493-4498.2002 2023-11-05T03:44:45+01:00 Evidence that Rodents Are a Reservoir of Hepatitis E Virus for Humans in Nepal He, Junkun Innis, Bruce L. Shrestha, Mrigendra P. Clayson, Edward T. Scott, Robert M. Linthicum, Kenneth J. Musser, Guy G. Gigliotti, Scott C. Binn, Leonard N. Kuschner, Robert A. Vaughn, David W. 2002 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jcm.40.12.4493-4498.2002 https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/JCM.40.12.4493-4498.2002 en eng American Society for Microbiology https://journals.asm.org/non-commercial-tdm-license Journal of Clinical Microbiology volume 40, issue 12, page 4493-4498 ISSN 0095-1137 1098-660X Microbiology (medical) journal-article 2002 crasmicro https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.40.12.4493-4498.2002 2023-10-09T16:15:57Z ABSTRACT Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important cause of enterically transmitted hepatitis in developing countries. Sporadic autochthonous cases of hepatitis E have been reported recently in the United States and other industrialized countries. The source of HEV infection in these cases is unknown; zoonotic transmission has been suggested. Antibodies to HEV have been detected in many animals in areas where HEV is endemic and in domestic swine and rats in the United States. There is evidence supporting HEV transmission between swine and humans. Nevertheless, HEV has not been detected in wild rodents. We tested murid rodents and house shrews trapped in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, where hepatitis E is hyperendemic, for HEV infection. The most commonly trapped species was Rattus rattus brunneusculus . Serum samples from 675 animals were tested for immunoglobulin G against HEV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; 78 (12%) were positive, indicating acute or past infection. Antibody prevalence was higher among R. rattus brunneusculus and Bandicota bengalensis than in Suncus murinus. Forty-four specimens from 78 antibody-positive animals had sufficient residual volume for detection of HEV RNA (viremia) by reverse transcription-PCR. PCR amplification detected four animals (9%; three were R. rattus brunneusculus and one was B. bengalensis ) with viremia. Phylogenetic analysis of the four genome sequences (405 bp in the capsid gene) recovered showed that they were identical, most closely related to two human isolates from Nepal (95 and 96% nucleotide homology, respectively), and distinct from HEV sequences isolated elsewhere. These data prove that certain peridomestic rodents acquire HEV in the wild and suggest that cross-species transmission occurs, with rodents serving as a virus reservoir for humans. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus ASM Journals (American Society for Microbiology - via Crossref) Journal of Clinical Microbiology 40 12 4493 4498 |
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ASM Journals (American Society for Microbiology - via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crasmicro |
language |
English |
topic |
Microbiology (medical) |
spellingShingle |
Microbiology (medical) He, Junkun Innis, Bruce L. Shrestha, Mrigendra P. Clayson, Edward T. Scott, Robert M. Linthicum, Kenneth J. Musser, Guy G. Gigliotti, Scott C. Binn, Leonard N. Kuschner, Robert A. Vaughn, David W. Evidence that Rodents Are a Reservoir of Hepatitis E Virus for Humans in Nepal |
topic_facet |
Microbiology (medical) |
description |
ABSTRACT Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important cause of enterically transmitted hepatitis in developing countries. Sporadic autochthonous cases of hepatitis E have been reported recently in the United States and other industrialized countries. The source of HEV infection in these cases is unknown; zoonotic transmission has been suggested. Antibodies to HEV have been detected in many animals in areas where HEV is endemic and in domestic swine and rats in the United States. There is evidence supporting HEV transmission between swine and humans. Nevertheless, HEV has not been detected in wild rodents. We tested murid rodents and house shrews trapped in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, where hepatitis E is hyperendemic, for HEV infection. The most commonly trapped species was Rattus rattus brunneusculus . Serum samples from 675 animals were tested for immunoglobulin G against HEV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; 78 (12%) were positive, indicating acute or past infection. Antibody prevalence was higher among R. rattus brunneusculus and Bandicota bengalensis than in Suncus murinus. Forty-four specimens from 78 antibody-positive animals had sufficient residual volume for detection of HEV RNA (viremia) by reverse transcription-PCR. PCR amplification detected four animals (9%; three were R. rattus brunneusculus and one was B. bengalensis ) with viremia. Phylogenetic analysis of the four genome sequences (405 bp in the capsid gene) recovered showed that they were identical, most closely related to two human isolates from Nepal (95 and 96% nucleotide homology, respectively), and distinct from HEV sequences isolated elsewhere. These data prove that certain peridomestic rodents acquire HEV in the wild and suggest that cross-species transmission occurs, with rodents serving as a virus reservoir for humans. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
He, Junkun Innis, Bruce L. Shrestha, Mrigendra P. Clayson, Edward T. Scott, Robert M. Linthicum, Kenneth J. Musser, Guy G. Gigliotti, Scott C. Binn, Leonard N. Kuschner, Robert A. Vaughn, David W. |
author_facet |
He, Junkun Innis, Bruce L. Shrestha, Mrigendra P. Clayson, Edward T. Scott, Robert M. Linthicum, Kenneth J. Musser, Guy G. Gigliotti, Scott C. Binn, Leonard N. Kuschner, Robert A. Vaughn, David W. |
author_sort |
He, Junkun |
title |
Evidence that Rodents Are a Reservoir of Hepatitis E Virus for Humans in Nepal |
title_short |
Evidence that Rodents Are a Reservoir of Hepatitis E Virus for Humans in Nepal |
title_full |
Evidence that Rodents Are a Reservoir of Hepatitis E Virus for Humans in Nepal |
title_fullStr |
Evidence that Rodents Are a Reservoir of Hepatitis E Virus for Humans in Nepal |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence that Rodents Are a Reservoir of Hepatitis E Virus for Humans in Nepal |
title_sort |
evidence that rodents are a reservoir of hepatitis e virus for humans in nepal |
publisher |
American Society for Microbiology |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jcm.40.12.4493-4498.2002 https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/JCM.40.12.4493-4498.2002 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_source |
Journal of Clinical Microbiology volume 40, issue 12, page 4493-4498 ISSN 0095-1137 1098-660X |
op_rights |
https://journals.asm.org/non-commercial-tdm-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.40.12.4493-4498.2002 |
container_title |
Journal of Clinical Microbiology |
container_volume |
40 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
4493 |
op_container_end_page |
4498 |
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1781705450050289664 |