Hepatitis E virus (HEV) strains belonging to the Orthohepevirus genus are divided into four species (A-D). HEV strains included in the Orthohepevirus A species infect humans and several other mammals. Among them, the HEV-3 and HEV-4 genotypes are zoonotic and infect both humans and animals, of which, pigs and wild boar are the main reservoirs. Viruses belonging to the Orthohepevirus C species (HEV-C) have been considered to infect rats of different species and carnivores. Recently, two studies reported the detection of HEV-C1 (rat HEV) RNA in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients, suggesting a possible transmission of rat HEV to humans. The role of rats and mice as reservoir of HEV and the potential zoonotic transmission is still poorly known and deserves further investigation. To this purpose, in this study, the presence of HEV RNA was investigated in the intestinal contents and liver samples from 47 Black rats (Rattus rattus) and 21 House mice (Mus musculus) captured in four pig farms in Northern Italy. The presence of both Orthohepevirus A and C was investigated by the real-rime RT-PCR specific for HEV-1 to HEV-4 genotypes of Orthohepevirus A species and by a broad spectrum hemi-nested RT-PCR capable of detecting different HEV species including rat HEV. The intestinal content from two Black rats resulted positive for HEV-C1 RNA and for HEV-3 RNA, respectively. None of the House mice was HEV RNA positive. Sequence analyses confirmed the detection of HEV-C1, genotype G1 and HEV-3 subtype e. The viral strain HEV-3e detected in the rat was identical to swine HEV strains detected in the same farm. Liver samples were negative for the detection of either rat HEV or HEV-3.

中文翻译：

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在意大利北部养猪场捕获的大鼠中检测戊型肝炎病毒RNA。

属于正肝炎病毒属的戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）株分为四个种（AD）。甲型肝炎病毒中包含的HEV株感染人类和其他几种哺乳动物。其中，HEV-3和HEV-4基因型是人畜共患病的，并且感染人和动物，其中猪和野猪是主要的宿主。已经认为属于正肝病毒C物种（HEV-C）的病毒感染了不同物种和食肉动物的大鼠。最近，两项研究报告了在免疫功能低下和具有免疫能力的患者中检测到HEV-C1（大鼠HEV）RNA的可能性，这表明可能将大鼠HEV传播给人类。大鼠和小鼠作为戊型肝炎病毒储存库和潜在的人畜共患病传播的作用仍知之甚少，值得进一步研究。为此，在本研究中，在意大利北部四个养猪场捕获的47只黑鼠（Rattus rattus）和21只家鼠（Mus musculus）的肠内容物和肝样品中研究了HEV RNA的存在。通过对甲型肝炎病毒A属HEV-1至HEV-4基因型特异的实时RT-PCR和能够检测不同HEV物种的广谱半巢式RT-PCR，研究了甲型肝炎病毒A和C的存在大鼠HEV。来自两只黑大鼠的肠内容物分别导致HEV-C1 RNA和HEV-3 RNA阳性。所有的家鼠均没有HEV RNA阳性。序列分析证实检测到HEV-C1，基因型G1和HEV-3亚型e。在大鼠中检测到的病毒株HEV-3e与在同一农场中检测到的猪HEV株相同。