Molecular analysis of swine hepatitis E virus from north India.

Background & objectives: Hepatitis E is the main cause of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis in developing countries. In the developed countries such as the USA, Japan and Taiwan, the viruses infecting humans and swine share the same genotype with a high sequence similarity. Genotype 1 circulates in humans whereas genotype 4 in pigs in India. The present study was designed to investigate the presence of anti-HEV antibodies and HEV-RNA in swine population from north India, to investigate the genotype prevalent in it, and to compare it with other swine and human HEV strains from India. Methods: A total of 67 serum samples were collected from pigs of age period (1-6 months) from Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar, Bareily and subjected to anti-HEV IgG and HEV RNA detection. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using the neighbor-joining method and evaluated using the interior branch test method with MEGA 4 software. Results: Anti-HEV IgG and HEV RNA was found in 38.8 and 4.5 per cent of swine samples studied respectively. The above samples were observed to be of genotype 4e. The three new sequences had nucleotide similarity with other swine sequences in genotype 4 ranging from 80-98 per cent. Interpretation & conclusions: The three sequences observed in the present study showed nucleotide similarity with other swine sequences from southern and western India. The present study suggests that genotype 4 ‘e’ is prevalent in the north India.

Seroprevalence of subclinical HEV infection in pregnant women from north India: A hospital based study.

Background & objectives: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major public health problem in the developing countries. HEV infection in pregnant women is more common and fatal in the third trimester. The mortality rate due to HEV-induced hepatitis is as high as 15-20 per cent. The present study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of subclinical HEV infection in pregnant primigravidae women. Methods: A total of 300 asymptomatic healthy primigravidae (gestational age 16-24 wk) with no history of jaundice were included in the study. Prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies was determined by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Results: The overall prevalence of seropositive HEV IgG was 33.67 per cent among the pregnant women. The seropositivity of HEV IgG was significantly high in urban population (P<0.05), and related with the period of settlement (P<0.05) and source of water (P=0.05). Low socio-economic status of the pregnant women appeared to be the only risk factor (OR=1.96, CI=1.17-3.28) associated with HEV IgG antibody. Interpretation & conclusions: In the present study, exposure to HEV during pregnancy was higher in urban (slum areas) than rural population. Socio-economic status was a risk factor for anti-HEV IgG in pregnant women. Early preventive measures if taken, may decrease the maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity of HEV infection.