Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hepatitis E virus infection in equines in Spain.
- Journal:
- Transboundary and emerging diseases
- Year:
- 2019
- Authors:
- García-Bocanegra, Ignacio et al.
- Affiliation:
- Animal Health Department · Spain
- Species:
- horse
Abstract
Hepatitis E (HE) is an important emerging disease in European countries. To analyse the role of equids as potential reservoirs for HE virus (HEV), we determined the prevalence of HEV infection in 861 equines from 464 herds in Spain. HEV RNA in serum was detected in 0.4% (3/692) of horses, 1.2% (1/86) of donkeys and 3.6% (3/83) of mules. Phylogenetic analysis identified the zoonotic genotype 3 as being closely related to viral human and swine strains. In this first report on HEV in equids in Europe, we confirm the susceptibility of horses, donkeys and mules to HEV infection. The low prevalence detected indicates that equids may be considered spillover hosts rather than true reservoirs.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30047239/