Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hepatitis E virus in pets in Shaanxi, China - what to know
By Chen, Yiyang et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2025·Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serological and molecular survey of hepatitis E virus in pets in shaanxi, China.
- Species:
- rabbit
Plain-English summary
A study in Shaanxi, China, looked at the presence of hepatitis E virus (HEV), which can affect both animals and humans, in pet dogs, cats, and rabbits. Researchers tested blood samples from 177 dogs, 98 cats, and 56 rabbits and found that about 18% of dogs, 16% of cats, and nearly 11% of rabbits had antibodies indicating past exposure to the virus. However, they did not find any active virus in the dogs or cats, while about 9% of the rabbits tested positive for the virus. The study also identified specific genetic sequences of the virus from the rabbits that were similar to other known strains. Overall, the findings suggest that HEV is present in these pets, highlighting the need for measures to prevent and control the virus in these animals.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic pathogen, and its infection is widespread in China. However, few studies were carried out on pets, especially in western China. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the prevalence of HEV infection in pet dogs, cats, and rabbits. Serum samples from 177 pet dogs, 98 pet cats, and 56 pet rabbits were collected from a pet hospital located in Xi'an city of Shaanxi province, western China, to detect anti-HEV antibodies and HEV RNA. RESULTS: The positivity rates of HEV IgG were 18.08% (32/177), 16.33% (16/98), and 10.71% (6/56) in pet dogs, cats, and rabbits, respectively. In addition, higher OD values of the anti-HEV IgM antibody were chosen for HEV detection, and the HEV RNA positivity rates were 0% (0/177), 0% (0/98), and 8.93% (5/56). Meanwhile, two different partial HEV ORF1 genes were obtained from 5 positive pet rabbit samples. These sequences shared 88.2% identity with each other and 48.6-98.2% identity with other HEVs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CN-SX-R1 and CN-SX-R2 (GenBank Nos. PP982770 and PP982771) detected in this study were closely related to genotype 3 HEV strains and belonged to rabbit HEVs. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that HEV was prevalent in pet dogs, cats, and rabbits in Shaanxi, suggesting that necessary measures must be taken to prevent and control HEV infection in these species.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40611210/