Hepatitis E virus (HEV), the causative agent of hepatitis E, is an understudied but important pathogen. HEV typically causes self-limiting acute viral hepatitis, however chronic infection with neurological and other extrahepatic manifestations has increasingly become a significant clinical problem. The discovery of swine HEV from pigs and demonstration of its zoonotic potential led to the genetic identification of very diverse HEV strains from more than a dozen other animal species. HEV strains from pig, rabbit, deer, camel, and rat have been shown to cross species barriers and infect humans. Zoonotic HEV infections through consumption of raw or undercooked animal meat or direct contact with infected animals have been reported. The discovery of a large number of animal HEV variants does provide an opportunity to develop useful animal models for HEV. In this mini-review, we discuss recent advances in HEV host range, and cross-species and zoonotic transmission.

戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）是戊型肝炎的病原体，是一种未被充分研究但很重要的病原体。HEV 通常会引起自限性急性病毒性肝炎，但伴有神经系统和其他肝外表现的慢性感染已日益成为一个重要的临床问题。从猪身上发现猪 HEV 并证明了它的人畜共患潜力，导致对来自十几种其他动物物种的非常多样化的 HEV 毒株进行了基因鉴定。来自猪、兔、鹿、骆驼和大鼠的 HEV 毒株已被证明可以跨越物种障碍并感染人类。据报道，食用生的或未煮熟的动物肉或直接接触受感染的动物会导致人畜共患 HEV 感染。大量动物 HEV 变体的发现确实为开发有用的 HEV 动物模型提供了机会。在这篇小型回顾中，我们讨论了 HEV 宿主范围以及跨物种和人畜共患病传播的最新进展。