RT Journal Article
T1 Persistence of hepatitis E virus in the liver of non-viremic naturally infected wild boar.
A1 Risalde, Maria A
A1 Rivero-Juarez, Antonio
A1 Romero-Palomo, Fernando
A1 Frias, Mario
A1 Lopez-Lopez, Pedro
A1 Cano-Terriza, David
A1 Garcia-Bocanegra, Ignacio
A1 Jimenez-Ruiz, Saul
A1 Camacho, Angela
A1 Machuca, Isabel
A1 Gomez-Villamandos, Jose C
A1 Rivero, Antonio
K1 Animals
K1 Animals, Wild
K1 Hepatitis Antibodies
K1 Hepatitis E
K1 Hepatitis E virus
AB Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen with pigs and wild boar serving as reservoirs for human infection through direct contact with infected animals or the consumption of raw or undercooked pork products. The liver is considered the main target site of HEV replication in swine and an important organ in the pathogenesis of the disease. The aim of this study was to characterize the target liver cells for HEV entry in naturally infected wild boar and to evaluate the type and severity of the pathological changes in order to reach a better understanding of the hepatic pathogenic mechanisms involved in hepatitis E. In total, 58 livers from hunted wild boar were histopathologically evaluated. The presence of specific HEV antibodies in serum was determined by indirect ELISA. Immunohistochemistry was used for the detection of HEV antigen and Real time RT-PCR to detect HEV RNA in liver and serum. HEV seroprevalence in these animals was of 5.197% (CI95%: 1.77-14.14). By Real time RT-PCR, HEV was detected in the liver tissue of four wild boar (6.8%; CI95%: 2.7-16.4) and only one animal was also positive in serum (1.7%; CI95%: 0.3-9.1). The non-viremic animals naturally infected with HEV presented evidence of liver infection, mainly in Kupffer cells and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, without apparent associated hepatitis lesions. This study supports the hypothesis that low viral titers may persist in the liver of non-viremic individuals, giving thus the possibility of consumption of contaminated liver of animals diagnosed as HEV-negative in serum. Further immunopathogenic studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for this process and to evaluate the protocols of HEV diagnosis in animals destined for human consumption.
PB Public Library of Science
PB https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0186858
YR 2017
FD 2017-10-09
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/11781
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/11781
LA en
NO Risalde MA, Rivero-Juárez A, Romero-Palomo F, Frías M, López-López P, Cano-Terriza D, et al. Persistence of hepatitis E virus in the liver of non-viremic naturally infected wild boar. PLoS One. 2017 Nov 8;12(11):e0186858
DS RISalud
RD Apr 11, 2025