Epidemiological survey on infection of hepatitis E virus among goats and calves in Wuhan

Objective To investigate the infection of hepatitis Evirus(HEV)among calves and goats in Wuhan.Methods Serum samples of 397 calves and 503 goats were collected from Wuhan and tested for HEV antigen and antibody by ELISAs.The positive sera of HEV antigen or antibody were tested for HEV RNA with fluo rescence real time RT PCR.HEV cDNA was amplified from HEV RNA positive samples by nested RT-PCR,and the product was cloned and sequenced.Further more,monkeys were inoculated with the positive sample for HEV RNA.Results The positive rates of anti HEV anti body and antigen among goats were 21.87%(110)and 12.33%(62),respectively,while those among calves were 2.02% (8)and 0%,respectively.The rate of the goat samples which were both antiHEV antibody and an tigen positive was 2.78% (14).HEV RNA was detectable only in one serum of goat sample.The sequence analysis showed that it be longed to HEV geno type 4.Conclusion The infection rate of HEV in goats was high in Wuhan while it was low in calves.