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. 2009 Mar;15(3):381-7.
doi: 10.3201/eid1503.071472.

Sources of hepatitis E virus genotype 3 in The Netherlands

Saskia A Rutjes  1 , Willemijn J Lodder, Froukje Lodder-Verschoor, Harold H J L van den Berg, Harry Vennema, Erwin Duizer, Marion Koopmans, Ana Maria de Roda Husman
Affiliations

Sources of hepatitis E virus genotype 3 in The Netherlands

Saskia A Rutjes et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Mar.

Abstract

Non-travel-related hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 infections in persons in the Netherlands may have a zoonotic, foodborne, or water-borne origin. Possible reservoirs for HEV transmission by water, food, and animals were studied. HEV genotype 3/open reading frame 2 sequences were detected in 53% of pig farms, 4% of wild boar feces, and 17% of surface water samples. HEV sequences grouped within 4 genotype 3 clusters, of which 1 is so far unique to the Netherlands. The 2 largest clusters contained 35% and 43% of the animal and environmental sequences and 75% and 6%, respectively, of human HEV sequences obtained from a study on Dutch hepatitis E patients. This finding suggests that infection risk may be also dependent on transmission routes other than the ones currently studied. Besides the route of exposure, virus characteristics may be an important determinant for HEV disease in humans.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Maximum-parsimony tree of hepatitis E virus (HEV) sequences detected in pig, wild boar and water samples, based on a 148-nt sequence of open reading frame 2 (nt 6322–6469 of strain M73218). Sources of Dutch sequences and genotype 3 clusters are indicated. Sequences are compared with prototype sequences of different clusters of HEV genotype 3. Prototypes correspond with the following GenBank accession nos.: A) US1, AF060668; C) NLSW105, AF336298; E) UK-swine p354, AF503511; F) G1, AF110391. The following accession numbers have been used for phylogenetic analysis of isolates from surface water: EU526620, EU526626, from wild boar; EU526642, from pig liver; DQ916142–DQ916144, from pig feces; and DQ996399, EU526606–EU526619, EU526621–EU526625, EU526627–EU526641, EU526643–EU526647.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Maximum-parsimony tree of hepatitis E virus (HEV) sequences detected in environmental samples and patients during 2004–2006, based on a 148-nt sequence of open reading frame 2 (nt 6322–6469 of strain M73218). Origins of HEV sequences and genotype 3 clusters are indicated. Sequences are compared with prototype sequences of different clusters of HEV genotype 3. Prototypes correspond with the following GenBank accession nos.: A) US1, AF060668; C) NLSW105, AF336298; E) UK-swine p354: AF503511; F) G1, AF110391. The following accession numbers have been used for phylogenetic analysis of human isolates: AB385844–AB385848, AB385850–AB385852, DQ200279, DC200282–DQ200284, DQ200287, DQ200289, DQ200292, DQ200293. Accession numbers of animal and environmental samples are those in Figure 1.
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