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A nationwide survey of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in wild boars in Japan: identification of boar HEV strains of genotypes 3 and 4 and unrecognized genotypes

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Abstract

To investigate the nationwide prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection and to characterize HEV genomes among Japanese wild boars (Sus scrofa leucomystax), 578 boars captured in 25 prefectures from 2003 to 2010 were studied. Anti-HEV IgG was detected in 8.1%, and HEV RNA in 3.3% of boars. Among the 19 boar HEV isolates obtained from infected boars, 14 isolates (74%) were classified as genotype 3, 4 isolates (21%) as genotype 4, and the remaining isolate (wbJOY_06) was distantly related to all known HEV isolates of genotypes 1-4, differing by 18.4-25.0% and 18.0-24.3% within the 412-nucleotide sequence of ORF1 and ORF2, respectively. A genotype 4 boar HEV isolate (wbJGF_08-1) obtained herein shared 98.6% identity over the entire genome with a human HEV isolate obtained from a patient who developed acute hepatitis after consuming undercooked wild boar meat, suggesting that wild boars are also reservoirs for genotype 4 HEV in humans.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. We thank Yoshimoto Seki, Masayuki Nakayama (Ibaraki), Emiko Fukui (Tochigi), Arisa Watanabe, Takako Taketomi, Takahiko Fukuchi (Saitama), Naoki Doi (Kanagawa), Hideki Shinno, Katsuhiko Hotta, Hidemi Honda, Momoko Note (Toyama), Michikazu Takahashi (Fukui), Toyomi Koda, Fumiaki Kawazuma (Nagano), Katsumi Ito, Yoshinori Koga (Gifu), Yasushi Fujiwara (Nara), Hiroto Tanaka (Wakayama), Ayumu Kawamoto, Kazuyoshi Murao (Tottori), Shinji Fujieda, Kimihiro Tanaka (Okayama), Akira Yoshimura, Nobuo Sakuma, Hitoshi Nishimura (Yamaguchi), Takuya Hashimoto, Tatsuhiko Shiraishi, Masashi Bando, Shinji Fujiwara (Tokushima), Hideto Sonoda (Saga), Kazumi Yamazaki (Nagasaki), Kazushi Serikawa, Susumu Hijioka, Makoto Nishimura (Kumamoto), Takeshi Sugimoto (Oita), Shuntaro Matsuda, Takahisa Kawano, and Hidehito Shirao (Miyazaki) for supplying serum and/or liver specimens obtained from wild-caught boars.

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Author notes

  1. Keisuke Naka

    Present address: Okamura Isshindo Hospital, Okayama, Okayama, 704-8117, Japan

  2. Satoshi Furuya

    Present address: Yamanashi City Makioka Hospital, Yamanashi, Yamanashi, 404-0013, Japan

  3. Koji Kitagawa

    Present address: Koka City Shigaraki Chuo Hospital, Koka, Shiga, 529-1851, Japan

  4. Takanobu Usui

    Present address: Tokai Village Hospital, Naka, Ibaraki, 319-1112, Japan

  5. Sumi Yoshino

    Present address: Kagawa Rosai Hospital, Marugame, Kagawa, 763-8502, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kamiichi General Hospital, Kamiichi, Toyama, 930-0391, Japan

    Yukihiro Sato

  2. Maniwa Kokuho Yubara Onsen Hospital, Maniwa, Okayama, 717-0403, Japan

    Hiroyuki Sato

  3. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0498, Japan

    Hiroyuki Sato & Hirotsugu Sakamoto

  4. Tessei Clinic, Niimi, Okayama, 719-3701, Japan

    Keisuke Naka

  5. Koshu City Kokuho Enzan Clinic, Koshu, Yamanashi, 404-0042, Japan

    Satoshi Furuya

  6. Ito Shimin Hospital, Ito, Shizuoka, 414-0054, Japan

    Haruhisa Tsukiji

  7. Nishiazai-Machi Kokuho Nagahara Clinic, Nagahama, Shiga, 529-0721, Japan

    Koji Kitagawa

  8. Nara City Tawara Clinic, Nara, Nara, 630-2174, Japan

    Yoshihide Sonoda

  9. Hitachiomiya City Kokuho Miwa Clinic, Hitachiomiya, Ibraki, 319-2601, Japan

    Takanobu Usui

  10. Kitaibaraki City General Hospital, Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki, 319-1704, Japan

    Hirotsugu Sakamoto

  11. Takinomiya General Hospital, Ayagawa, Kagawa, 761-2393, Japan

    Sumi Yoshino

  12. Tosei General Hospital, Seto, Aichi, 489-8642, Japan

    Yuko Shimizu

  13. Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0498, Japan

    Masaharu Takahashi, Shigeo Nagashima,  Jirintai, Tsutomu Nishizawa & Hiroaki Okamoto

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  1. Yukihiro Sato
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  15. Tsutomu Nishizawa
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  16. Hiroaki Okamoto
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Correspondence to Hiroaki Okamoto.

Additional information

The nucleotide sequences of boar or human HEV isolates reported herein have been assigned DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank accession nos. AB602439-AB602440 (full-length genome), AB605180-AB605209 (ORF1, 412 nt), and AB605210-AB605239 (ORF2, 412 nt).

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Sato, Y., Sato, H., Naka, K. et al. A nationwide survey of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in wild boars in Japan: identification of boar HEV strains of genotypes 3 and 4 and unrecognized genotypes. Arch Virol 156, 1345–1358 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-011-0988-x

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