title: Prevalence of antibody against hepatitis E virus in various species of non-human primates: evidence of widespread infection in Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata).
abstract: We screened 495 serum samples from 20 species of non-human primates for the antibody against hepatitis E virus (HEV). Anti-HEV IgG was detected in 84 of 232 (36.2%) Japanese monkeys, 2 of 19 (10.5%) cynomolgus monkeys, 3 of 83 (3.6%) rhesus monkeys, and 1 of 1 (100%) Taiwanese monkey, respectively. These results suggest that HEV is circulating among monkeys belonging to the genus macaca. A high prevalence of anti-HEV IgG was observed in Japanese macaques (M. fuscata) despite the fact that Japan is non-endemic for hepatitis E. It is possible that HEV can be transmitted from Japanese macaques to humans. Further, the rate of antibody positivity was found to increase with age in Japanese macaques. Seropositive macaques were found throughout Japan, but the seroprevalence rate differed among geographic regions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Huy Thien-Tuan
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Tian-Cheng
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Naokazu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Tetsutaro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sata
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008251:Macaca / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011323:Primates / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification / Q000821:virology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G