title: Full-length genomic sequence analysis of new subtype 3k hepatitis E virus isolates with 99.97% nucleotide identity obtained from two consecutive acute hepatitis patients in a city in northeast Japan.
abstract: Full-length genomic sequences of hepatitis E virus (HEV) obtained from two consecutive cases of acute self-limiting hepatitis E in a city in northeast Japan were determined. Interestingly, two HEV isolates from each patient shared nucleotide identity of 99.97% in 7 225 nucleotides, and a phylogenetic analysis showed that they formed a cluster of Japanese isolates that is considered as a new HEV subtype 3k. The high similarity of HEV sequences of two isolates from these patients in this study suggested that a subtype 3k HEV strain had spread via a commonly distributed food in the city, possibly pig liver.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Omagari Kousei Medical Center, Omagari, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Omagari Kousei Medical Center, Omagari, Japan.
authors.forename: Mio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsuruoka
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishizawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagashima
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Tooru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimosegawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016679:Genome, Viral; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000821:virology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology
keywords: full genome; genotype 3; hepatitis viruses; phylogenetic analysis; subtype classification