Abstract
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen transmitting both human to human via the fecal oral route and from animals to humans through feces, direct contact, and consumption of contaminated meat products. Understanding the host range of the virus is critical for determining where potential threats to human health may be emerging from and where potential reservoirs for viral persistence in the environment may be hiding. Initially thought to be a human specific disease endemic to developing countries, the identification of swine as a primary host for genotypes 3 and 4 HEV in industrialized countries has begun a long journey of discovering novel strains of HEV and their animal hosts. As we continue identifying new strains of HEV in disparate animal species, it is becoming abundantly clear that HEV has a broad host range and many of these HEV strains can cross between differing animal species. These cross-species transmitting strains pose many unique challenges to human health as they are often unrecognized as sources of viral transmission.
Highlights
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus thought to be the leading cause of acute viral hepatitis in humans throughout the world [1]
Understanding the host range of HEV is critical to identifying potential transmission routes to humans, species that serve as reservoirs of viral persistence in the environment, and as potential hosts where HEV can mutate and become even more virulent
There have been reports of HEV positive enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) results with the serum containing HEV neutralizing antibodies in the apparent absence of HEV genomes throughout the animal’s life [28]. These results suggest the existence of unknown etiological agents that can generate cross-reacting, HEV-neutralizing antibodies in the absence of HEV infection [28]
Summary
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus thought to be the leading cause of acute viral hepatitis in humans throughout the world [1]. Replication levels are typically low and shedding of the virus is sporadic, making the technical and cost to benefit aspects involved in the extensive screening necessary for detecting HEV RNA in all potential host species prohibitive. Recent data showing newly discovered HEV homologues in fish [2], amphibians [3], moose [4], kestrels [5], and other diverse species suggests the family Hepeviridae might possess a host range with similarity to the Herpesvirales order which include numerous viruses infecting humans and almost all animal species, including insects, fish, mollusks, reptiles, birds, and mammals [6]. As we continue to evolve more efficient and advanced methods to screen for RNA virus populations and expand our HEV phylogenetic trees, we will inevitably find even more members of the Hepeviridae family and their host species, increasing the known host range of the virus
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