Evaluation of HBV-Like circulation in wild and farm animals from Brazil and Uruguay

The origin of the hepatitis B virus is a subject of wide deliberation among researchers. As a result, increasing academic interest has focused on the spread of the virus in different animal species. However, the sources of viral infection for many of these animals are unknown since transmission may occur from animal to animal, human to human, animal to human, and human to animal. The aim of this study was to evaluate hepadnavirus circulation in wild and farm animals (including animals raised under wild or free conditions) from different sites in Brazil and Uruguay using serological and molecular tools. A total of 487 domestic wild and farm animals were screened for hepatitis B virus (HBV) serological markers and tested via quantitative and qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect viral DNA. We report evidence of HBsAg (surface antigen of HBV) and total anti-HBc (HBV core antigen) markers as well as low-copy hepadnavirus DNA among domestic and wild animals. According to our results, which were confirmed by partial genome sequencing, as the proximity between humans and animals increases, the potential for pathogen dispersal also increases. A wider knowledge and understanding of reverse zoonoses should be sought for an effective One Health response

Hepatitis E Virus Infection: Is It Really a Problem in Latin America?

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a positive-strand RNA virus with a 7.2-kb genome (species Orthohepevirus A, genus Orthohepevirus, family Hepeviridae) that causes 20 million infections every year worldwide, leading to an estimated 3.3 million symptomatic cases of hepatitis E, being the main cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide.1,2 The virus is transmitted through the fecal-oral route, principally via contaminated water, although other routes of infection have been described, such as vertical transmission and blood transfusions.3 Eight genotypes have been described, and four are the most frequent in humans: HEV-1 and HEV-2 infect only human beings, whereas HEV-3 and HEV-4 are zoonotic viruses, which can infect persons by direct contact with animals or ingestion of contaminated food.Fil: Pisano, María Belén. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Mirazo Villar, Santiago. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Ré, Viviana Elizabeth. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

Hepatitis E virus in South America: the current scenario

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the most frequent causes of acute viral hepatitis of enteric transmission worldwide. In South America the overall epidemiology has been little studied, and the burden of the disease remains largely unknown.A research of all scientific articles about HEV circulation in South America until November 2017 was carried out. Human seroprevalences of HEV varied according to the studied population: blood donors presented prevalence rates ranging from 1.8 to 9.8%, while reports from HIV -infected individuals, transplant recipients and patients on hemodialysis showed higher prevalence rates. Only two cases of chronic hepatitis in solid-organ transplant patients from Argentina and Brazil have been described. Detection of HEV in the swine population is widely prevalent in the region.Anti-HEV antibodies have also been detected in other animal species; among them, antibody detection was recently documented in wild boars from Uruguay. Although scarce, studies focused on environmental and food HEV detection have shown viral presence in these kind of samples, highlighting possible transmission sources ofHEV in the continent . HEV genotype 3 was the most frequently detected in the region, with HEV genotype 1 detected only in Venezuela and Uruguay. HEV is widely distributed throughout South America, producing sporadic cases of acutehepatitis, but as a possible agent of chronic hepatitis. Finding the virus in humans, animals, environmental samples and food, show that it can be transmitted through many sources, alerting local governments and health systems to improve diagnosis and for the implementation of preventive measures.Fil: Pisano, María Belén. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología Dr. J. M. Vanella; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Martinez Wassaf, Maribel Graciela. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; ArgentinaFil: Mirazo Villar, Santiago. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Fantilli, Anabella Clara. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología Dr. J. M. Vanella; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Arbiza Rodonz, Juan Ramón. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Debes, José. University of Minnesota; Estados UnidosFil: Ré, Viviana Elizabeth. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología Dr. J. M. Vanella; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

Serological and virological survey of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in animal reservoirs from Uruguay reveals elevated prevalences and a very close phylogenetic relationship between swine and human strains

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an issue of public health concern in high-income and non-endemic countries. Increasing evidence supports the hypothesis of a zoonotic route as the main mode of infection in this epidemiological setting, since the transmission of genotypes HEV-3 and HEV-4 from reservoirs to humans has been demonstrated. In America, studies have confirmed the circulation of HEV in pig herds but the zoonotic role of wild boars has never been evaluated. Uruguay has a high burden of HEV- associated acute hepatitis, and a close phylogenetic relationship was observed among human HEV-3 strains and European isolates detected in swine. However in this context, swine herds have never been surveyed. Herein is reported a survey of HEV in swine herds, pigs at slaughter-house and free-living wild boar populations. Two-hundred and twenty sera and 150 liver tissue samples from domestic pigs, and 140 sera from wild boars were tested for HEV by ELISA and PCR-based approaches. All tested swine farms resulted seropositive with an overall rate of 46.8%. In turn, 22.1% of the wild boars had anti-HEV antibodies. HEV RNA was detected in 16.6% and 9.3% of liver samples from slaughter-age pigs and adult wild boars sera, respectively. Three strains from domestic pig were also amplified by nested-PCR approaches. By contrast, none of the positive samples obtained from wild boars could be confirmed by nested-PCR. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a very high nucleotide identity among swine strains and sequences obtained from humans in Uruguay. Results showed that HEV is widely distributed among swine herds in Uruguay. Additionally, this study evidences for the first time in the American continent that wild boar populations are a reservoir for HEV, though its zoonotic role remains to be elucidated. Altogether, data presented here suggest a high zoonotic risk of HEV transmission from swine to humans.Fil: Mirazo Villar, Santiago. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Gardinali, Noemí R.. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Cecilia, D'Albora. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Verger, Lorenzo. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Ottonelli, Florencia. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Ramos, Natalia. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Castro, Gustavo. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Pinto, Marcelo A.. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; Brasil. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Ré, Viviana Elizabeth. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Pisano, María Belén. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Lozano, Alejandra. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: de Oliveira, Jaqueline Mendes. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Arbiza, Juan. Universidad de la República; Urugua