DETECTION AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF HEPATITIS E VIRUS (HEV)IN SWINE FAECES

摘要

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a non-enveloped, single stranded, positive-sense RNA virus, recently classified as the prototype member in the Hepevirus genus of the family Hepeviridae. HEV has been classified in four major genotypes: type 1 (Asian strains), type 2 (a single Mexican strain), type 3 (strains from sporadic cases in industrialized countries), and type 4 (strains from sporadic cases in China, Japan, and Taiwan) (1). HEV is transmitted primarily by the faecal-oral route through contaminated water, and is the causative agent of Hepatitis E. The human and swine HEV isolates from industrialized countries are genetically clustered together in the same genotype (either genotype 3 or 4), raising concerns of Hepatitis E as a zoonotic disease (1).