Research Note: A putative novel subtype of the avian hepatitis E virus of genotype 3, Jiangxi province, China

Abstract

In recent years, the avian hepatitis E virus ( HEV ) has been widely spread in China, causing huge economic losses. Several studies have carried out detailed epidemiologic investigations of the avian HEV, but no data were from Jiangxi province. Since early April 2020, diseases similar to hepatic rupture hemorrhage syndrome caused by the avian HEV occurred in a Roman Brown layer farm in Jiangxi province, indicating this virus may also be epidemic there. To make this assumption clear, 20 liver samples were collected from the sick flock and then analyzed by detailed viral detection, which confirmed that the avian HEV should be responsible for the aforementioned disease (6 of 20). Then, the capsid gene of the virus was sequenced to show the molecular characteristics of the strain circulating in the aforementioned flock. Sequence comparison showed that it shared 80.7 to 94.7% identities with 12 published strains, while phylogenetic analysis confirmed that it belongs to a new subtype of genotype 3. Moreover, basing on a 242 bp fragment, the novel also shared high similarities to reference strains identified as genotypes before, revealing the genotype 3 maybe very popular in China and even can be divided into several subgroups. In conclusion, a novel avian HEV strain was identified in this study, which belongs to a new subtype of genotype 3. The analysis makes up for the molecular epidemiologic data of avian HEV and provides a basis for further understanding the spread of avian HEV in China.

Research Note: The prevalence and vertical transmission of avian hepatitis E virus novel genotypes in Tai'an city, China

“…Different genotypes of avian HEV have been reported worldwide ( Kwon et al, 2012 ; Liu et al, 2022 ), including strains of different genotypes widely reported in China's Shandong, Jiangxi, and Guangdong Provinces ( Li et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2020 ; Su et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2022 ). To further determine the molecular characteristics of avian HEV from layer farms and breeder farms, the positive samples were sequenced and analyzed, 14 partial sequences of ORF2 genes of avian HEV strains were obtained, and the genetic evolution showed that all strains except ON457637 and ON457638 belong to the same branch as the potential novel genotypes that we reported earlier, as shown in Figure 1 ( Liu et al, 2022 ), which indicated that potentially novel genotypes might be widespread in some chicken farms in Shandong Province.…”

“…Genotype 1 isolates were from Australia and Korea, while genotype 2 had been detected from the United States, Central Europe, and Spain ( Su et al, 2020 ). Genotypes 3 and 4 have been reported in Europe, China and Hungary, Taiwan Province, respectively ( Li et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2022 ). In addition, some new genotypes of avian HEV have been reported but not yet categorized ( Liu et al, 2020 ; Su et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2022 ).…”

The diagnosis and molecular epidemiology investigation of avian hepatitis E in Shandong province, China

“…Avian HEV was first reported in 1991 in western Canada and subsequently caused outbreaks in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom [ 8 , 9 ]. It has been reported that severe avian HEV infections have occurred in several provinces in China since 2016 [ 3 , 10 , 11 ]. In recent years, outbreaks of BLS and HSS in chicken flocks have gradually increased in the province Shandong [ 10 , 12 ].…”

The Diagnosis and Molecular Epidemiology Investigation of Avian Hepatitis E in Shandong Province, China

“…HEV was rst reported in Western Canada in 1991 and subsequently caused outbreak in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom [8,9]. It has been reported that severe HEV infections have occurred in several provinces in China since 2016 [10,3,11]. In recent years, outbreaks of BLS and HS syndrome in chicken ocks have gradually increased in Shandong province [10,12].…”