Prevalence of Antibody to Hepatitis E Virus among Rodents in the United States

The recent identification of antibody to hepatitis E virus (HEV) in pigs, sheep, and cattle and characterization of an HEV isolated from domestic pigs suggest animal reservoirs for this virus. To investigate whether rodents might be a natural reservoir of HEV, the prevalence of anti-HEV was determin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 2000-02, Vol.181 (2), p.449-455
Main Authors: Favorov, Michael O., Kosoy, Michael Y., Tsarev, Sergei A., Childs, James E., Margolis, Harold S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antibodies
Biological and medical sciences
Biological taxonomies
cattle
Disease Reservoirs
Epidemiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hepatitis Antibodies - blood
Hepatitis Antigens - genetics
Hepatitis Antigens - immunology
Hepatitis E - epidemiology
Hepatitis E - immunology
Hepatitis E - veterinary
Hepatitis E virus
Hepatitis E virus - immunology
Immunoblotting
Infections
Major Articles
Medically important nuisances and vectors, pests of stored products and materials: population survey and control
Mice
Microbiology
pigs
Prevalence
Rats
Recombinant Proteins - immunology
Rodent Diseases - epidemiology
Rodent Diseases - virology
Rodentia - immunology
Rodents
sheep
United States - epidemiology
USA
Vectors. Intermediate hosts
Virology
Viruses
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Description
Summary:The recent identification of antibody to hepatitis E virus (HEV) in pigs, sheep, and cattle and characterization of an HEV isolated from domestic pigs suggest animal reservoirs for this virus. To investigate whether rodents might be a natural reservoir of HEV, the prevalence of anti-HEV was determined among a variety of species throughout the United States. Serum samples were obtained from 806 rodents of 26 species in 15 genera. Anti-HEV prevalence was assessed by 2 EIAs (mosaic protein- and 55-kDa protein-based), which gave concordant results. The highest prevalence of antibody was found in the genus Rattus (59.7%; 166/278). Overall, rodents from urban habitats had a significantly higher prevalence of anti-HEV than did animals captured from rural areas. A high prevalence of anti-HEV was found in animals captured on mainland versus barrier islands. The results from this study provide convincing evidence of widespread HEV or HEV-like infection in rodents of the United States.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1086/315273