Wild Boar Hepatitis E Seroprevalence in Hunting Funds from Buzău and Galaţi CountiesFROM BUZĂU AND GALAȚI COUNTIES

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the causal agent of the hepatitis E transmitted primarily via the faecal-oral route. HEV belongs to the family Hepeviridae, with HEV strains isolated from human and swine classified into the Orthohepevirus genus Orthohepevirus A species. The disease is considered as an emerging zoonosis with worldwide distribution based on recent advances showing that HEV strains circulating in domestic and wild pigs are genetically related to strains identified in autochthonous human cases.The aim of the present study was to determine the seroprevalence of HEV in wild boar from Galati and Buzau counties, as a preliminary stage of the evaluation of the HEV distribution in wild boar population completed by molecular identification and characterizationSerum samples were collected from 68 wild boars during the hunting season, between December 2014 and February 2015, in 33 hunting funds from two Romanian Counties: Galati and Buzau. For serological analysis all samples were tested using a commercially available HEV antibody assay: ID Screen(R) Hepatitis E Indirect Multi-species ELISA kit (IDVet Diagnostics, France). HEV antibodies have been detected in 7 out of 68 serums, representing an overall prevalence of 10.29%. Seropositive animals were identified in both counties, respectively 3 out of 30 (10%) for Buzau County and 4 out of 38 (10.52%) in Galati County. The prevalence rates determined in this study are comparable to those determined in other European Countries.Our results provided premises to investigate the hepatitis E virus presence in Romanian wild boar as well as in other wild animals, which are considered as potential HEV reservoirs.