title: First report of equine Pegivirus in South America, Brazil.
abstract: The human Pegivirus (HPgV, also known as GBV-C virus or hepatitis G virus) is a lymphotropic RNA-virus phylogenetically related to the Hepatitis C virus, which infects approximately 5% of the world's human population. Recently, two novel, presumably hepatotropic, pegiviruses, designated as equine Pegivirus (EPgV) and Theiler's Disease Associated Virus (TDAV), were discovered in horses with clinical and laboratory evidence of hepatic disease. To verify the occurrence of pegiviruses infection in horses from Pará State, northern Brazil, serum samples from 114 horses located in four cities (Acará, Belém, Dom Eliseu and Ananindeua) were submitted for the molecular analysis of EPgV by nested RT-PCR. The results of nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of EPgV NS3 and NS5B genomic regions confirmed one positive sample among 114 tested samples (1/114; 0.8%). No evidence of TDAV infection was found, but despite the low prevalence and unknown clinical significance among the studied population, these results represent the first molecular detection of EPgV in horses in South America.
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil; Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: souzajralex@gmail.com.
authors: Alex Junior Souza
authors: AJS
authors: de Souza
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Andreza Pinheiro
authors: AP
authors: Malheiros
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil; Escola Superior da Amazônia, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Erika Rocha Paraense
authors: ERP
authors: de Sousa
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil; Escola Superior da Amazônia, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Alba Cristina Negrão
authors: ACN
authors: Moreira
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Andrea Lima
authors: AL
authors: Silva
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: André Antônio Corrêa
authors: AAC
authors: das Chagas
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Pedro Eduardo Bonfim
authors: PEB
authors: Freitas
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Bernard Salame
authors: BS
authors: Gemaque
authors: Instituto da Saúde e Produção Animal, Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Heriberto Ferreira
authors: HF
authors: de Figueiredo
authors: Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors: Lilian Rose Marques
authors: LRM
authors: de Sá
authors: Escola Superior da Amazônia, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Paloma Daguer Ewerton
authors: PDE
authors: Dos Santos
authors: Seção de Hepatologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors: Manoel do Carmo Pereira
authors: MDCP
authors: Soares
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001769:Blood / Q000821:virology*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018178:Flaviviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: GBV; Horses; Pegivirus