Genetic and serological surveillance for non-primate hepacivirus in horses in Japan

Matsuu, Aya; Hobo, Seiji; Ando, Kunihide; Sanekata, Takashi; Sato, Fumio; Endo, Yoshiro; Amaya, Tomohiko; Osaki, Tomohiro; Horie, Masayuki; Masatani, Tatsunori; Ozawa, Makoto; Tsukiyama-Kohara, Kyoko

doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2015.05.028

Cited by 33 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Finally, female donkeys were more likely to be seropositive for EqHV than male donkeys. A similar distribution was not observed for horses in two previous studies, one showing no gender-associated differences and another one showing a higher EqHV burden in male horses (25,28). Next, we investigated the clinical relevance of EqHV infection in donkeys by determination of aspartate aminotransferase (AST; reference value Ͻ536 U/liter), gammaglutamyl transferase (␥GGT; Ͻ69 U/liter), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH; Ͻ8.2 U/liter) levels in serum of all Bulgarian donkeys (n ϭ 201) as markers of liver damage.…”

Section: Donkey Hepacivirus Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Our data support frequent horizontal transmission in EqHV-infected populations, potentially aided by human interference, e.g., vaccination or transfusion by veterinarians (28). The higher seroprevalence we found in female donkeys may be compatible with a relevant occurrence of sexual transmission in EqHV.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…The low number of RNA-positive donkeys could not be explained by a putatively low exposure of donkeys to EqHV, since seroprevalence in donkeys was high at 28.3% (278 of 982 donkeys combining this and the only previous serological study [17]), although still significantly lower than in horses at 34.9% (469 of 1,343 horses from all previous studies performing serological analyses; corrected 2 ϭ 11.1, P Ͻ 0.0009). The EqHV seroprevalence increased with the age of donkeys, which was comparable to a study on EqHV in German horses (25) but in contrast to another study on EqHV in Japanese horses (28). Finally, female donkeys were more likely to be seropositive for EqHV than male donkeys.…”

Section: Donkey Hepacivirus Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…1B) and RNA, providing evidence against immediate antibody-mediated EqHV clearance in donkeys. However, the co-occurrence of viremia and antibodies as a sign of delayed clearance was apparently much lower in donkeys at 1.1% (3 of 278 antibody-positive animals) than in horses at 2 to 30% (17,20,24,25,27,28).…”

Section: Molecular Detection Of Eqhv In Donkeysmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…This would be different from HCV, for which sexual transmission is very infrequent (35), and for which detection rates and viral loads are much lower in semen than in blood (summarized in reference 36). Hypothetically, the absence of higher EqHV seroprevalence in female horses than in male horses (25,28) may be obscured by anthropogenic intervention. Another factor aiding higher seroprevalence in female donkeys may be putatively larger groups held together, compared to more solitary male donkeys.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Differential Infection Patterns and Recent Evolutionary Origins of Equine Hepaciviruses in Donkeys

Wälter

Rasche

Moreira-Soto

et al. 2017

J Virol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major human pathogen. Genetically related viruses in animals suggest a zoonotic origin of HCV. The closest relative of HCV is found in horses (termed equine hepacivirus [EqHV]). However, low EqHV genetic diversity implies relatively recent acquisition of EqHV by horses, making a derivation of HCV from EqHV unlikely. To unravel the EqHV evolutionary history within equid sister species, we analyzed 829 donkeys and 53 mules sampled in nine European, Asian, African, and American countries by molecular and serologic tools for EqHV infection. Antibodies were found in 278 animals (31.5%), and viral RNA was found in 3 animals (0.3%), all of which were simultaneously seropositive. A low RNA prevalence in spite of high seroprevalence suggests a predominance of acute infection, a possible difference from the mostly chronic hepacivirus infection pattern seen in horses and humans. Limitation of transmission due to short courses of infection may explain the existence of entirely seronegative groups of animals. Donkey and horse EqHV strains were paraphyletic and 97.5 to 98.2% identical in their translated polyprotein sequences, making virus/host cospeciation unlikely. Evolutionary reconstructions supported host switches of EqHV between horses and donkeys without the involvement of adaptive evolution. Global admixture of donkey and horse hepaciviruses was compatible with anthropogenic alterations of EqHV ecology. In summary, our findings do not support EqHV as the origin of the significantly more diversified HCV. Identification of a host system with predominantly

show abstract

Section: Donkey Hepacivirus Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%