Evidence for the presence of hepatitis E virus in pigs in the United Kingdom

• Published in: Veterinary record Vol. 154; no. 8; pp. 223 - 227
• Main Authors: Banks, M., Heath, G. S., Grierson, S. S., King, D. P., Gresham, A., Girones, R., Widen, F., Harrison, T. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Limited 21.02.2004; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies, Viral - analysis; Base Sequence; DNA, Viral - analysis; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary; Feces - virology; Genotype; Hepatitis E - epidemiology; Hepatitis E - veterinary; Hepatitis E - virology; Hepatitis E virus; Hepatitis E virus - classification; Hepatitis E virus - genetics; Hepatitis E virus - isolation & purification; Molecular Sequence Data; Prevalence; reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Swine; Swine Diseases - blood; Swine Diseases - epidemiology; Swine Diseases - virology; United Kingdom - epidemiology; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 0042-4900; 2042-7670
• DOI: 10.1136/vr.154.8.223

Samples of serum, tissue and faeces from two pig herds in England were examined for hepatitis E virus by reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PcR), and a virus strain from each herd was partially sequenced. Eleven of 42 faecal samples and 16 of 21 tissue samples from two pigs were positive for the virus by RT-PCR. Analysis of two unique but closely related nucleotide sequences obtained from the two herds showed that the viruses clustered in genotype III (6) with a human strain of the virus from an autochthonously acquired case of acute hepatitis in the uK. An ELISA based on recombinant open reading frame 2 (ORF-2) was used to detect antibodies to hepatitis E virus in 256 pig sera from the uK; 85-5 per cent of the samples were positive, compared with 58 per cent of similar samples from Swedish pigs and 23-5 per cent of samples from Dutch pigs.