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Endemic HEV in Czech Republic may be zoonotic
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A hepatitis E endemic in the Czech Republic was caused by the hepatitis E virus genotype 3, according to a recent report in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
“The source of [hepatitis E virus] infection remains unidentified in the majority of [hepatitis E virus] cases, but the gathering evidence suggests zoonotic transmission,” researchers from Na Bulovce Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic, wrote. “The possible zoonotic origin of [hepatitis E virus] infection was also suggested by sequence and phylogenetic analyses of human and animal [hepatitis E virus] strains in the Czech Republic. The zoonotic genotype 3 was detected in 28 (96.6%) of the sequenced isolates.”
The study included 51 patients who were diagnosed with acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection between 2009 and 2012. The researchers evaluated the clinical, biochemical, hematological and epidemiological characteristics of the patients. Serum and stool samples were tested for the presence of HEV RNA with molecular methods.
Among the 47 patients with symptomatic endemic HEV infection, there were more men (n=40) and the patients were older, with a median age of 61 years. All but one patient had positive serology; the one patient was diagnosed by PCR only. The patients had elevated levels of total bilirubin, alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transferase.
Most of the patients (84.3%) had at least one stool or serum sample that was positive for HEV RNA. Half of the patients reported eating meat, innards or other home-prepared pork products, or tasting raw meat before cooking. Of the 29 isolates that underwent sequencing, 28 belonged to genotype 3.
“The knowledge of these findings, together with the routine use of a combination of serologic and molecular methods, may improve the diagnostic process of HEV,” the researchers wrote. “Moreover, the use of molecular methods may help in our understanding of the zoonotic potential of HEV and process of its transmission to humans.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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