Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Apr;43(4):1684-8.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.43.4.1684-1688.2005.

Identification of genotype 3 hepatitis E virus (HEV) in serum and fecal samples from pigs in Thailand and Mexico, where genotype 1 and 2 HEV strains are prevalent in the respective human populations

K Cooper  1 , F F Huang, L Batista, C D Rayo, J C Bezanilla, T E Toth, X J Meng
Affiliations

Identification of genotype 3 hepatitis E virus (HEV) in serum and fecal samples from pigs in Thailand and Mexico, where genotype 1 and 2 HEV strains are prevalent in the respective human populations

K Cooper et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2005 Apr.

Abstract

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), the causative agent of hepatitis E, is an important public health concern in many developing countries. Increasing evidence indicates that hepatitis E is a zoonotic disease. There exist four major genotypes of HEV, and HEV isolates identified in samples from pigs belong to either genotype 3 or 4. Genotype 1 and 2 HEVs are found exclusively in humans. To determine whether genotype 1 and 2 HEVs also exist in pigs, a universal reverse transcription-PCR assay that is capable of detecting all four HEV genotypes was used to test for the presence of HEV RNA in serum and/or fecal samples from pigs in Thailand, where genotype 1 human HEV is prevalent, and from pigs in Mexico, where genotype 2 human HEV was epidemic. In Thailand, swine HEV RNA was detected in sera from 10/26 pigs of 2 to 4 months of age but not in sera from 50 pigs of other ages. In Mexico, swine HEV RNA was detected in 8/125 sera and 28/92 fecal samples from 2- to 4-month-old pigs. Antibodies to swine HEV were also detected in about 81% of the Mexican pigs. A total of 44 swine HEV isolates were sequenced for the open reading frame 2 gene region. Sequence analyses revealed that all swine HEV isolates identified in samples from pigs in Thailand and Mexico belong to genotype 3. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that minor branches associated with geographic origin exist among the swine HEV isolates. The results indicated that genotype 1 or 2 swine HEV does not exist in pigs from countries where the respective human HEV genotype 1 or 2 is prevalent. It is likely that only genotype 3 and 4 HEV strains have zoonotic potential.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
A phylogenetic tree based on the ORF2 gene regions of 44 swine HEV isolates from pigs in Mexico and Thailand and sequences from selected human and swine HEV isolates representing each of the four genotypes. Avian HEV was included as an out-group. The tree was constructed with the bootstrap search option with 1,000 replications by using the PAUP program. Bootstrap values for major branches are shown. All 44 swine HEV isolates identified in samples from pigs in Mexico (designated S for Sonora or G for Granja) and in Thailand (designated T for Thailand) belong to genotype 3. The small letters (s and f) at the end of each isolate number indicate the source of the virus: s, serum; f, feces.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Drobeniuc, J., M. O. Favorov, C. N. Shapiro, B. P. Bell, E. E. Mast, A. Dadu, D. Culver, P. Iarovoi, B. H. Robertson, and H. S. Margolis. 2001. Hepatitis E virus antibody prevalence among persons who work with swine. J. Infect. Dis. 184:1594-1597. - PubMed
    1. Emerson, S. U., and R. H. Purcell. 2003. Hepatitis E virus. Rev. Med. Virol. 13:145-154. - PubMed
    1. Emerson, S. U., D. Anderson, A. Arankalle, X. J. Meng, M. Purdy, G. G. Schlauder, and S. A. Tsarev. 2004. Hepevirus, p. 851-855. In C. M. Fauquet, M. A. Mayo, J. Maniloff, U. Desselberger, and L. A. Ball (ed.), Virus taxonomy: eighth report of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Elsevier/Academic Press, London, United Kingdom.
    1. Erker, J. C., S. M. Desai, G. G. Schlauder, G. J. Dawson, and I. K. Mushahwar. 1999. A hepatitis E virus variant from the United States: molecular characterization and transmission in cynomolgus macaques. J. Gen. Virol. 80:681-690. - PubMed
    1. Halbur, P. G., C. Kasorndorkbua, C. Gilbert, D. Guenette, M. B. Potters, R. H. Purcell, S. U. Emerson, T. E. Toth, and X. J. Meng. 2001. Comparative pathogenesis of infection of pigs with hepatitis E viruses recovered from a pig and a human. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39:918-923. - PMC - PubMed

Associated data