Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important human pathogen that historically has been difficult to study. Limited levels of replication in vitro hindered our understanding of the viral life cycle. Sporadic and low-level virus shedding, lack of standardized detection methods, and subclinical infections made the development of animal models difficult. Better diagnostic techniques and understanding of the virus increased our ability to identify and characterize animal strains and animals that are amenable to model human-relevant infection. These advances are translating into the development of useful HEV animal models so that some of the greatest concerns associated with HEV infection, including host immunology, chronic infection, severe pregnancy mortality, and extrahepatic manifestations, can now be studied. Continued development of these animal models will be instrumental in understanding the many complex questions associated with HEV infection and for assessing therapeutics and prevention strategies to minimize HEV becoming a greater risk to the human population.

中文翻译：

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戊型肝炎病毒：动物模型和人畜共患病。

戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）是一种重要的人类病原体，历来难以研究。体外复制水平有限，阻碍了我们对病毒生命周期的理解。零星的和低水平的病毒脱落，缺乏标准化的检测方法以及亚临床感染使动物模型的开发变得困难。更好的诊断技术和对病毒的了解提高了我们鉴定和表征适合模拟人类相关感染的动物品系和动物的能力。这些进展正在转化为有用的HEV动物模型的开发，因此现在可以研究与HEV感染相关的一些最大问题，包括宿主免疫学，慢性感染，严重的妊娠死亡率和肝外表现。