Evidence of hepatitis E virus infection in specific pathogen-free rabbits in Korea

• DOI: 10.1007/s11262-018-1562-3
• Publication Date: 2018-04-24T06:02:24Z
• Authors: Sang-Hoon Han; Byung-Joo Park; Hee-Seop Ahn; Yong-Hyun Kim; Hyeon-Jeong Go; Dong-Hwi Kim; Joong-Bok Lee; Seung-Yong Park; Chang-Seon Song; Sang-Won Lee; In-Soo Choi
• Keywords: 0303 health sciences; Genotype; Antibodies, Viral; Animal Diseases; Hepatitis E; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Republic of Korea; Hepatitis E virus; Animals; RNA, Viral; Capsid Proteins; Rabbits; Phylogeny

Rabbits are considered a new natural reservoir of hepatitis E virus (HEV). In this study, HEV infection was verified by the detection of partial genomic sequence of HEV and anti-HEV antibodies in specific pathogen-free (SPF) rabbits. HEV RNA was found in 6.4% serum and 13.5% fecal samples from 126 SPF rabbits. Anti-HEV antibodies were also detected in 4.0% of the SPF rabbits. HEV genetic sequences isolated from the rabbits were clustered into a rabbit HEV clade with other rabbit HEV isolates; they were found to be most closely related with a rabbit HEV sequence previously reported in Korea. Therefore, HEV infection should be diagnosed before conducting experiments involving SPF rabbits.