Abstract
Rabbit hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a novel genotype of HEV, and is considered to pose a risk of zoonotic transmission. Research into the systemic distribution of rabbit HEV in rabbits during different periods of infection has rarely been reported. To better understand this virus, we infected rabbits with second-passage rabbit HEV via an intraperitoneal route. After inoculation, the infection showed two types, temporary and constant infection. The detection of HEV RNA in the feces varied with time, and serum antigen correlated with fecal HEV RNA. Viremia only appeared 72 days after inoculation. The rabbits remained antibody negative throughout the experimental period. When HEV was localized, several organs besides the liver were HEV RNA positive. Tissue antigen was observed immunohistochemically in the different cells of various organs, especially in parts of the small intestine and the characteristic rabbit gut-associated lymphoid tissue. These data provide valuable information for future research into the pathogenesis of HEV.
Highlights
Hepatitis E (HE) is an acute self-limiting disease caused by a nonenveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus designated ‘‘hepatitis E virus’’ (HEV) [1,2]
One rabbit died during the study, which may be attributable to the stress caused by the regular collection of blood
reverse transcription-nested PCR (RT-nPCR) detection of HEV RNA in rabbit sera and feces All the sera and feces from the rabbits in the control group were negative for HEV RNA
Summary
Hepatitis E (HE) is an acute self-limiting disease caused by a nonenveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus designated ‘‘hepatitis E virus’’ (HEV) [1,2]. The disease is prevalent in undeveloped countries and in industrialized countries, including Asia and Africa, whereas in developed countries, HE is endemic and sporadic [3]. A recent study demonstrated that HE is a zoonotic disease. Rabbit HEV was found in China, with an overall nucleotide similarity of 77–79% to genotypes 1–4 of HEV [11]. The sera of 15.4% of rabbits were positive for HEV antibodies in 9 of 10 counties of China [12]. Liver, bile, intestine, and cecum samples from wild rabbits tested positive for HEV RNA [13,14]. In view of the prevalence of rabbit HEV and the risk of its zoonotic transmission from rabbits, rabbit HEV warrants more concern as a public health risk [15]
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