Journal
JOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS
Volume 16, Issue 7, Pages 524-528Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2009.01107.x
Keywords
hepatitis E virus; seroprevalence; Yezo-deer
Funding
- Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan
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In this study, 520 serum samples from Yezo-deer in the Hidaka district, Hokkaido, Japan were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to investigate whether the animals were infected with hepatitis E virus (HEV). The distribution of optical density values showed a bimodal pattern and 181 samples (34.8%) were deemed to be antibody-positive against HEV. At least five (2.8%) of the positive sera gave specific bands by Western blot analysis. An age-dependent increase in prevalence of the antibodies was found among the animals. These findings indicate that Yezo-deer are a possible host for HEV infection. To avoid the risk of becoming HEV infected, the consumption of raw Yezo-deer meat must be prohibited.
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