A case of incidental infection of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 1 in a domestic pig

Abstract

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection involving zoonotic genotypes is a public health problem in high-income and non-endemic developing countries. Herein we report the detection of a human genotype 1 (HEV-1) strain infecting a domestic pig, which is not considered a natural reservoir of this genotype. Viral load was quantified in stool by Real-Time qPCR and sequence analyses were performed. Infectivity of the HEV-1 strain was assesed by in vitro isolation in A549 cell line. Results suggest that certain epidemiological settings might favour accidental spillover infection and thus influence the host range restriction of HEV.