Detection of rat hepatitis E virus in wild Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Black rats (Rattus rattus) from 11 European countries

• Published in: Veterinary Microbiology
• Main Authors: Ryll, René, Bernstein, Samuel, Heuser, Elisa, Schlegel, Mathias, Dremsek, Paul, Zumpe, Maxi, Wolf, Sandro, Pépin, Michel, Bajomi, Daniel, Müller, Gabi, Heiberg, Ann-Charlotte, Spahr, Carina, Lang, Johannes, Groschup, Martin H., Ansorge, Hermann, Freise, Jona, Guenther, Sebastian, Baert, Kristof, Ruiz-Fons, Francisco, Pikula, Jiri, Knap, Nataša, Tsakmakidis, Joannis, Dovas, Chrysostomos, Zanet, Stefania, Imholt, Christian, Heckel, Gerald, Johne, Reimar, Ulrich, Rainer, G.
• Other Authors: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine “Carl Gustav Carus”, Technische Universität Dresden = Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden), Virpath-Grippe, de l'émergence au contrôle -- Virpath-Influenza, from emergence to control CIRI (Virpath), Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Bábolna Bio Ltd., Stadt Zürich, Umwelt- und Gesundheitsschutz Zürich, AC Heiberg Rådgivning, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment Berlin (BfR), Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie - Institute of Medical Microbiology, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen = Justus Liebig University (JLU), Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research - Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Leibniz Association-Leibniz Association, Task-Force Veterinärwesen, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, INBO, Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Institut de recherche sur l'environnement (IREC), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno (VFU), CEITEC - Central European Institute of Technology Brno, Czech Republic, Zaloška 4, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin (UNITO), Julius Kühn-Institute, Institute of Ecology & Evolution (IEE), Universität Bern / University of Bern (UNIBE), Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics Lausanne (SIB), Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne (UNIL), German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2017
• Subjects: Animal Distribution; Male; Humans; Norway rat; Phylogeny; Animals; Wild; Black rat; Europe; Female; Genotype 3; Hepatitis E; Hepatitis E virus; Hepeviridae; Population Density; Rats; Species Specificity; [SDV.IMM]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Immunology; [SDV.MP.BAC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology; [SDV.MP.VIR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Virology; Norway; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01953659; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2017.07.001

International audience Rat hepatitis E virus (HEV) is genetically only distantly related to hepeviruses found in other mammalian reservoirs and in humans. It was initially detected in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from Germany, and subsequently in rats from Vietnam, the USA, Indonesia, China, Denmark and France. Here, we report on a molecular survey of Norway rats and Black rats (Rattus rattus) from 12 European countries for ratHEV and human pathogenic hepeviruses. RatHEV-specific real-time and conventional RT-PCR investigations revealed the presence of ratHEV in 63 of 508 (12.4%) rats at the majority of sites in 11 of 12 countries. In contrast, a real-time RT-PCR specific for human pathogenic HEV genotypes 1-4 and a nested broad-spectrum (NBS) RT-PCR with subsequent sequence determination did not detect any infections with these genotypes. Only in a single Norway rat from Belgium a rabbit HEV-like genotype 3 sequence was detected. Phylogenetic analysis indicated a clustering of all other novel Norway and Black rat-derived sequences with ratHEV sequences from Europe, the USA and a Black rat-derived sequence from Indonesia within the proposed ratHEV genotype 1. No difference in infection status was detected related to age, sex, rat species or density of human settlements and zoological gardens. In conclusion, our investigation shows a broad geographical distribution of ratHEV in Norway and Black rats from Europe and its presence in all settlement types investigated.