TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ryll, Rene
A1  - Eiden, Martin
A1  - Heuser, Elisa
A1  - Weinhardt, Markus
A1  - Ziege, Madlen
A1  - Hoeper, Dirk
A1  - Groschup, Martin H.
A1  - Heckel, Gerald
A1  - Johne, Reimar
A1  - Ulrich, Rainer G.
T1  - Hepatitis E virus in feral rabbits along a rural-urban transect in Central Germany
JF  - Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics and infectious diseases (MEEGID)
N2  - Rabbit associated genotype 3 hepatitis E virus (HEV) strains were detected in feral, pet and farm rabbits in different parts of the world since 2009 and recently also in human patients. Here, we report a serological and molecular survey on 72 feral rabbits, collected along a rural-urban transect in and next to Frankfurt am Main, Central Germany. ELISA investigations revealed in 25 of 72 (34.7%) animals HEV-specific antibodies. HEV derived RNA was detected in 18 of 72 (25%) animals by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay. The complete genomes from two rabbitHEV-strains, one from a rural site and the other from an inner-city area, were generated by a combination of high-throughput sequencing, a primer walking approach and 5′- and 3′- rapid amplification of cDNA ends. Phylogenetic analysis of open reading frame (ORF)1-derived partial and complete ORF1/ORF2 concatenated coding sequences indicated their similarity to rabbit-associated HEV strains. The partial sequences revealed one cluster of closely-related rabbitHEV sequences from the urban trapping sites that is well separated from several clusters representing rabbitHEV sequences from rural trapping sites. The complete genome sequences of the two novel strains indicated similarities of 75.6–86.4% to the other 17 rabbitHEV sequences; the amino acid sequence identity of the concatenated ORF1/ORF2-encoded proteins reached 89.0–93.1%. The detection of rabbitHEV in an inner-city area with a high human population density suggests a high risk of potential human infection with the zoonotic rabbitHEV, either by direct or indirect contact with infected animals. Therefore, future investigations on the occurrence and frequency of human infections with rabbitHEV are warranted in populations with different contact to rabbits.
KW  - European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
KW  - Hepatitis E virus
KW  - Germany
KW  - Inner-city area
KW  - Rural habitat
KW  - Zoonosis
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2018.03.019
SN  - 1567-1348
SN  - 1567-7257
VL  - 61
SP  - 155
EP  - 159
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -