title: Identification of the first strain of swine hepatitis E virus in South America and prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies in swine in Argentina.
abstract: In Argentina, a country considered non-endemic for hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection, serologic evidence of HEV infection has been observed in different human population groups. In other countries, a high degree of genetic relatedness has been observed between human and swine HEV genotype 3 sequences, suggesting zoonosis as one probable route of infection. This is the first identification of swine HEV in South America. HEV RNA was detected and sequenced in the ORF 1 and ORF 2 regions from swine fecal samples from a herd located in Pergamino, in the province of Buenos Aires. These strains all group into genotype 3 and exhibit a close relationship to two novel HEV variants previously identified in Argentina from sporadic acute cases of non-A to -C hepatitis in humans. In addition, using a modified commercial ELISA, the presence of anti-HEV antibodies was surveyed in five provinces across the country and all five showed a prevalence of HEV antibodies, ranging from 4% to 58%. The results suggest that swine could be an important reservoir for virus transmission in Argentina as has been suggested for other non-endemic areas. The Argentine human strains and swine strain described in this article seem to be closely related to a human Austrian strain, suggesting a potential European origin of HEV infection in these cases.
authors.affiliation: Nacional Reference Lab for Viral Hepatitis, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, ANLIS "Dr C.G. Malbrán", Buenos Aires, Argentina. smunne@anlis.gov.ar
authors.forename: María S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Munné
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vladimirsky
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Otegui
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brajterman
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guarnera
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monfellano
authors.forename: George G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Schlauder
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: González
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D013020:South America / Q000453:epidemiology; D013552:Swine / Q000821:virology*; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies