Table 2.
Prevalence of hepatitis E in different animal species
| Country | Population | Sample size | Method | anti-HEV | HEV RNA (%)/genotype (subtype) | Ref. |
| Bulgaria | Piglets | 44 | EIA | IgG 50% | NT | Pishmisheva et al[28] |
| Fattening pigs | 41 | EIA | IgG 29.2% | NT | ||
| Croatia | Domestic pigs | 848 | RT-PCR | NT | 24.5% (G3) | Prpić et al[40] |
| Wild boars | 536 | RT-PCR | NT | 12.3% (G3) | ||
| Molluscs (mussels, oysters) | 538 | RT-PCR | NA | 0% | ||
| Cattle | 32 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | ||
| Red fox | 50 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | ||
| Deer | 320 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | ||
| Muflons | 12 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | ||
| Ferrets | 8 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | ||
| Martens | 10 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | ||
| Pigs (serum samples) | 60 | EIA/RT-PCR | IgG 91.7% | 13.3% 8.1% | Lipej et al [39] | |
| Pigs (bile samples) | 60 | RT-PCR | NA | 8.1% | ||
| Pigs, domestic | 1424 | EIA/RT-PCR | IgG 32.94% | 0% | Jemeršić et al[41] | |
| Wild boars | 1000 | EIA/RT-PCR | IgG 31.10% | 11.33% | ||
| Greece | Mussels | 51 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | Diez-Valcarce et al55] |
| Black rats/Norway rats | 20 | RT-PCR | NT | 10% | Ryll et al[50] | |
| Romania | Farm pigs | 50 | EIA/IB | IgG 50% | NT | Savuta et al[62] |
| Backyard pigs | 95 | EIA/IB | IgG 38.94% | |||
| Backyard pigs | 112 | EIA | IgG 49.27% | NT | Savuta et al[58] | |
| Pigs (2-4 mo) stool samples | 19 | RT-PCR | NT | 31.58% (G3) | Anita et al[61] | |
| Wild boars | 52 | EIA | 9.61%1 | NT | Porea et al[63] | |
| Wild boars | 68 | EIA | IgG 10.29% | NT | Porea et al[63] | |
| Wild boars | 50 | RT-PCR | NT | 18% (G3) | Porea et al[65] | |
| Serbia | Farm pigs (pooled stool samples) | 30 | RT-PCR | NT | 30% | Petrovic et al[67] |
| Farm pigs (polled tissue samples) | 20 | RT-PCR | NT | 45% | ||
| Backyard pigs (pooled tissue samples) | 15 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | ||
| Wild boars (pooled stool samples) | 10 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | ||
| Backyard pigs | 315 | EIA | IgG 34.6% | NT | Lupulovic et al[68] | |
| Pigs (liver samples) | 50 | NT | NT | 26% | Savic et al[69] | |
| Fattening pigs | 95 | NT | NT | 7.37% | Petrović et al[71] | |
| Piglets (8 wk) | 50 | NT | NT | 64% | ||
| Pigs (blood samples) | 55 | EIA | IgG 54.54% | NT | Lupulovic et al[70] | |
| Pigs (meat juice samples) | 55 | EIA | IgG 20% | NT | ||
| Slovenia | Black rats/Norway rats | 17/1 | RT-PCR | NT | 0% | Ryll et al[50] |
| Domestic pigs | 85 | RT-PCR | NT | 20.3% | Steyer et al[74] | |
| Suckling pigs (0-3 wk) | 38 | RT-PCR | NT | 5.3% | ||
| Weanling pigs (3-10 wk) | 21 | RT-PCR | NT | 28.6% | ||
| Fattening pigs (> 10 wk) | 26 | RT-PCR | NT | 26.9% | ||
| Wild boars | 288 | EIA/RT-PCR | 30.21%1 | 0.35% | Žele et al[75] | |
| Pigs (stool samples) | 811 | RT-PCR | NT | 5.4% | Raspor Lainšček et al[76] | |
| Pigs (bile samples) | 811 | RT-PCR | NT | 4.9% | ||
| Pigs (liver samples) | 811 | RT-PCR | NT | 5.3% (G3a, 3b, 3c, 3e) |
1
Total anti-hepatitis E virus antibodies. HEV: Hepatitis E virus; EIA: Enzyme immunoassay; IB: Immunoblot; RT-PCR: Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; NT: Not tested; NA: Not applicable.