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Published on: June 26, 2020
Presence of Hepatitis E Virus in a RED Deer (Cervus elaphus) Population in Central Italy
I Di Bartolo1, E Ponterio1, G Angeloni1
1Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Hepatitis E is an acute human disease caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV). In addition to humans, HEV has been detected in several animal species and is recognized as a zoonotic pathogen. Pigs, wild boar and deer can be reservoir. In this study, we evaluated HEV prevalence in a free-living red deer (Cervus elaphus) population in central Italy by detecting virus-specific antibodies and RNA in sera. A total of 35 of 251 red deer sera were positive for anti-HEV IgG. HEV RNA was detected in 10 of 91 sera examined. Two genomic fragments targeted by diagnostic PCRs in the capsid region were sequenced, both matching with genotype 3 HEV. Overall results confirmed the occurrence of HEV infection in deer also in Italy.
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