First Report of Hepatitis E Virus Infection in Sika Deer in China. (9th April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Xiao-Xuan; Qin, Si-Yuan; Zhang, Yuan; Meng, Qing-Feng; Jiang, Jing; Yang, Gui-Lian; Zhao, Quan; Zhu, Xing-Quan
• Other Names: Shata Mohamed T. Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: BioMed research international. Volume 2015(2015)
• Publication Date: 2015-04-09
• Subjects: Medicine -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1155/2015/502846
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2314-6133

Abstract

Abstract : Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a single stranded RNA, nonenveloped virus, belongs to the genus Hepevirus, in the family of Hepeviridae . In this study, 46 (5.43%) out of the 847 serum samples from sika deer ( Cervus nippon ) were detected as seropositive with hepatitis E virus (HEV) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These samples were collected from Inner Mongolia and Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in China, between October 2012 and October 2013. Seroprevalence of HEV infection in male and female deer was 4.82% and 6.52%, respectively. HEV seroprevalence in sika deer from different geographical locations varied from 3.13% to 6.73%. There was no significant difference in HEV seroprevalence between sika deer collected in autumn (5.65%) and winter (4.85%). This is the first report of HEV seroprevalence in sika deer in China, which will provide foundation information for estimating the effectiveness of future measures to control HEV infection in sika deer in China and assessing the potential risk of humans infected with HEV after consumption of undercooked or raw meat from infected sika deer.