Epidemiological survey on the infection of hepatitis E virus among pigs in Henan province
Li, X-ji.; Zhao, C-yan.; Fan, J-ping.; Song, A-jing.; Wang, Y-chun.; Zhang, J-gang.
Zhonghua Shi Yan He Lin Chuang Bing du Xue Za Zhi 22(1): 24-26
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1003-9279 PMID: 18414692 Document Number: 620080
A study was conducted to investigate hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection among pigs in Henan Province, China. A total of 623 swine sera, collected from 5 districts, were divided into two groups; under 3 months of age and over 3 months of age. They were tested for HEV antigen and antibody by using ELISA. The sera positive for HEV antigen were tested for HEV RNA with reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). The positive products of RT-PCR were cloned and sequenced. The positive rates of anti-HEV antibody of the groups under 3 months and over 3 months of age were 90.27% and 92.55%, respectively, without statistical difference, and those of HEV antigen were 15.93% and 5.69%, respectively, with significant difference. The positive rates of anti-HEV antibody and HEV antigen were significantly different among different districts. HEV RNA was detectable in 5 of 47 HEV antigen positive samples. The sequence analysis showed that in 4 of 5 specimens, the sequence belonged to genotype 4 while in the remaining one the sequence was genotype 1. The prevalence rate of HEV infection in pigs was high in Henan Province and the rate differed in different districts.