title: First report of hepatitis E virus infection in sika deer in China.
abstract: Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a single stranded RNA, nonenveloped virus, belongs to the genus Hepevirus, in the family of Hepeviridae. In this study, 46 (5.43%) out of the 847 serum samples from sika deer (Cervus nippon) were detected as seropositive with hepatitis E virus (HEV) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These samples were collected from Inner Mongolia and Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in China, between October 2012 and October 2013. Seroprevalence of HEV infection in male and female deer was 4.82% and 6.52%, respectively. HEV seroprevalence in sika deer from different geographical locations varied from 3.13% to 6.73%. There was no significant difference in HEV seroprevalence between sika deer collected in autumn (5.65%) and winter (4.85%). This is the first report of HEV seroprevalence in sika deer in China, which will provide foundation information for estimating the effectiveness of future measures to control HEV infection in sika deer in China and assessing the potential risk of humans infected with HEV after consumption of undercooked or raw meat from infected sika deer.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin 130118, China ; State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730046, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Xuan
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin 130118, China ; State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730046, China.
authors.forename: Si-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin 130118, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Jilin Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Changchun, Jilin 130000, China.
authors.forename: Qing-Feng
authors.initials: QF
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin 130118, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin 130118, China.
authors.forename: Gui-Lian
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin 130118, China.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730046, China ; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Disease, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
authors.forename: Xing-Quan
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D003670:Deer / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000821:virology