Rat hepatitis E virus ( Rocahepevirus ratti ) in people living with HIV

• Published in: Emerging microbes & infections Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 2295389
• Main Authors: Casares-Jimenez, María, Rivero-Juarez, Antonio, Lopez-Lopez, Pedro, Montes, María Luisa, Navarro-Soler, Roser, Peraire, Joaquín, Espinosa, Nuria, Alemán-Valls, María Remedios, Garcia-Garcia, Tránsito, Caballero-Gomez, Javier, Corona-Mata, Diana, Perez-Valero, Ignacio, Ulrich, Rainer G, Rivero, Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01-12-2024; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: acute hepatitis; Animals; Hepatitis Antibodies; Hepatitis E; Hepatitis E - epidemiology; Hepatitis E virus - genetics; Hepatitis-Updates from the Classical Emerging Infection; HIV; HIV Infections - complications; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Male; public health; rat hepatitis E virus; Rats; RNA, Viral; Zoonoses; Hepatitis E; HIV; rat hepatitis E virus; acute hepatitis; public health; Zoonoses
• ISSN: 2222-1751; 2222-1751
• DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2023.2295389

Rat hepatitis E virus (ratHEV; species
) is considered a newly emerging cause of acute hepatitis of zoonotic origin. ratHEV infection of people living with HIV (PLWH) might portend a worse, as with hepatitis E virus (HEV; species
), and consequently this group may constitute a high-risk population. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of ratHEV by measuring viral RNA and specific IgG antibodies in a large Spanish cohort of PLWH. Multicentre study conducted in Spain evaluating PLWHIV included in the Spanish AIDS Research Network (CoRIS). Patients were evaluated for ratHEV infection using PCR at baseline and anti-ratHEV IgG by dot blot analysis to evaluate exposure to ratHEV strains. Patients with detectable ratHEV RNA were followed-up to evaluate persistence of viremia and IgG seroconversion. Eight-hundred and forty-two individuals were tested. A total of 9 individuals showed specific IgG antibodies against ratHEV, supposing a prevalence of 1.1 (95% CI; 0.5%-2.1%). Of these, only one was reactive to HEV IgG antibodies by ELISA. One sample was positive for ratHEV RNA (prevalence of infection: 0.1%; 95% CI: 0.08%-0.7%). The case was a man who had sex with men exhibiting a slightly increased alanine transaminase level (49 IU/L) as only biochemical alteration. In the follow-up, the patients showed undetectable ratHEV RNA and seroconversion to specific ratHEV IgG antibodies. Our study shows that ratHEV is geographical broadly distributed in Spain, representing a potential zoonotic threat.