Hepatitis E Virus: First Description in a Pet House Rabbit. A New Transmission Route for Human?

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Virology
• Zoonotic Diseases
• One Health

Background:

• Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a significant human pathogen with increasing recognition of its zoonotic potential.
• While HEV has been identified in various animal reservoirs, its presence in domestic pets like rabbits has not been previously documented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the first identification of HEV in a pet house rabbit.
• To investigate the genetic relationship of the identified HEV strain to known human and animal HEV sequences.
• To assess the potential zoonotic implications of HEV in domestic rabbits.

Main Methods:

• Molecular detection of HEV RNA in biological samples from a pet rabbit.
• Phylogenetic analysis of the HEV sequence to determine its genetic lineage and relationship to other HEV strains.

Main Results:

• HEV was successfully identified in a 7-year-old female domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
• Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the rabbit HEV strain is closely related to a human HEV sequence.
• This finding suggests a potential for interspecies transmission between rabbits and humans.

Conclusions:

• This study identifies a pet rabbit as a novel host for HEV.
• The close genetic relationship to human HEV strains underscores the zoonotic risk associated with HEV in domestic rabbits.
• The potential for domestic transmission of HEV to humans from pet rabbits warrants further consideration and investigation.