Emerging hepatitis E virus compared with hepatitis A virus: A new sanitary challenge

Abstract

Summary Hepatitis A (HAV) and E (HEV) viruses are able to cause liver disease in humans. Among the five classical hepatotropic viruses, they are mainly transmitted via the fecal‐oral route. Historically, many similarities have thus been described between them according to their incidence and their pathogenicity, especially in countries with poor sanitary conditions. However, recent advances have provided new insights, and the gap is widening between them. Indeed, while HAV infection incidence tends to decrease in developed countries along with public health improvement, HEV is currently considered as an underdiagnosed emerging pathogen. HEV autochthonous infections are increasingly observed and are mainly associated with zoonotic transmissions. Extra hepatic signs resulting in neurological or renal impairments have also been reported for HEV, as well as a chronic carrier state in immunocompromised patients, arguing in favor of differential pathogenesis between those two viruses. Recent molecular tools have allowed studies of viral genome variability and investigation of links between viral plasticity and clinical evolution. The identification of key functional mutations in viral genomes may improve the knowledge of their clinical impact and is analyzed in depth in the present review.

Structural Organizations of Qβ and MS2 Phages Affect Capsid Protein Modifications by Oxidants Hypochlorous Acid and Peroxynitrite

“…Water is a major vector for transmission of many human enteric viruses (e.g., noroviruses, hepatitis A and E viruses, enteroviruses). Transmission occurs either directly through consumption of drinking water or by swallowing water during recreational activities, or indirectly through consumption of food in contact with polluted water (i.e., lettuce, red fruits, shellfish) (Hirneisen et al, 2010;Blanco et al, 2017;Kauppinen and Miettinen, 2017;Hartard et al, 2019). Most enteric viruses are small particles (20-40 nm) composed of single-stranded RNA protected inside a capsid made of proteins.…”

A comparison of hepatitis E and A in a teaching hospital in Northwestern Romania. Acute hepatitis E – a mild disease?

“…Our study showed not only an increased number of hepatitis E cases in recent years but also a high number of severe and/or lethal cases as an emerging source of morbidity and a new healthcare challenge [37]. This increase cannot be explained by better detection as the same protocol was used since before this study started (2016).…”

Variability in molecular characteristics of Hepatitis E virus quasispecies could modify viral surface properties and transmission

“…Due to its potential for HEV strain genotyping 35 as well as its functional impact, 14,25,36 the ORF2/ORF3 overlapping region was targeted for sequencing. A nested PCR system 35 was performed giving an amplification product of 137 bp (nt 5290-5426).…”