Molecular Detection of Hepatitis E Virus in Swine Farms in and around Addis Ababa, and in Camels from Western Hararghe
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2020-06
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Abstract
Hepatitis E disease, caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV), is a worldwide human disease that is endemic in many developing countries. Hepatitis E virus is becoming an emerging infectious agent causing mainly acute infection worldwide and a major cause of water-borne hepatitis epidemic in tropical and subtropical countries in areas with poor sanitary conditions. It is a zoonotic disease of public health concern with high seroprevalence in pregnant women in Addis Ababa, transmitted primarily via the faecal-oral route. The presence of HEV specific antibodies were also reported in dromedary camels in Ethiopia; however, the infectious virus or a viral genome has not been demonstrated so far. To address this gap, a nested broad-spectrum RT-PCR protocol technique that is capable of detecting HEV in faecal samples including those derived from pigs and camels was used. A total of 95 faecal samples collected from both apparently healthy animals, 50 from pigs and 45 faecal samples from camels, were screened molecularly that resulted in the detection of HEV in four (8%)pig faecal samples collected from Burayu, Ethiopia. Three camel samples (6.7%) gave doubtful results while the rest samples did not result amplification of detectable viral gene fragments at the expected band size. Therefore, these results indicate that HEV is present in pigs and they could be a source of infection to humans and could be an unrecognized public health concern. Further confirmation of the presence of the viral genome in both the detected and doubtful samples via gene sequence generation is recommended to institute control and/or preventive measures.
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Burayu, Dromedary Camels, Hepatitis E virus, nested PCR, Pigs