HEPATITIS E VIRUS INFECTION IN MACACA MULATTA

摘要

One of the five known hepatitis viruses that can infect humans is hepatitis E virus (HEV). The first documented infection that was caused by HEV occurred in 1955 during an outbreak in New Delhi, India (1). HEV is a small nonenveloped particle that belongs to the familyHepeviridae and the genusHepevirus. Its single-stranded RNA genome has approximately 7200 base pairs (2). By genomic sequence analysis, there are four genotypes (1-4) and at least 24 subgenotypes (1a-1e, 2a-2b, 3a-3j, and 4a-4g) of HEV in humans and other mammals (4). Avian isolates of HEV were initially proposed to constitute the fifth genotype of HEV; but, due to their shorter genome and low homology with mammalian isolates, they have been categorized as a member of a separate genus (3).