Evidence for the presence of hepatitis E virus in pigs in the United Kingdom.
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.
Banks
M
M
Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB.
Heath
G S
GS
Grierson
S S
SS
King
D P
DP
Gresham
A
A
Girones
R
R
Widen
F
F
Harrison
T J
TJ
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005838:Genotype; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015995:Prevalence; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral