World Hepatitis Day- Hepatitis E Virus (HEV)

World Hepatitis Day is celebrated annually on July 28th, the birthday of Dr. Baruch Blumberg (1925–2011), who identified the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and created the first hepatitis B vaccination two years later. World Hepatitis Day provides a chance to raise awareness and knowledge of a disease that results in a person dying every thirty seconds. An infection of the liver caused by a virus is called viral hepatitis (VH). Virus types A, B, C and E are the most prevalent in Europe (commonly referred to as HAV, HBV, HCV and HEV).

?

Hepatitis E, less spoken-about and less deadly than the B and C variants, is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV). It is shed in the stools of infected persons and enters the human body through the intestine, most commonly by drinking HEV-contaminated drinking water. Hepatitis E is common in developing nations where income is low or medium with limited access to essential water, sanitation, hygiene, and health services.

?

There are four main types of HEV; referred to as genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4, with genotypes 1 and 2 only being found in humans and genotypes 3 and 4 being found primarily in animals but, on occasions, in humans. HEV resulting from the consumption of contaminated water causes mostly a genotype 1 infection and much less frequently a genotype 2 infection.

Image: Hepatitis E Virus?

Hepatitis E infection is unusual in regions with improved sanitation and water supply, with just a few rare occurrences. The majority of these cases are caused by genotype 3 virus and are caused by infection with virus originating in animals, generally through the consumption of raw meat, particularly pork. These incidents have nothing to do with tainted water or other foods.

HEV infection in people is normally self-limiting, lasting 2 to 6 weeks, however, a small number of infected people can develop a serious illness that results in acute liver failure, which can be fatal. The most common symptoms of HEV are mild fever, reduced appetite, nausea, skin rash or itching, jaundice, tender liver, etc. Pregnant women with hepatitis E, especially those in their second or third trimester, are at a higher risk of acute liver failure, fetal loss, and death.

?

In most cases, HEV infection takes 2 to 6 weeks to develop. HEV RNA and anti-HEV IgM antibodies, as well as anti-HEV IgG antibodies, can be found at the time of diagnosis. Anti-HEV IgM antibody positivity in the blood can be used as a useful indicator of acute HEV infection. Infections with the Hepatitis E virus (HEV) are the most prevalent cause of acute hepatitis, but they can also be chronic. There is no particular treatment for acute hepatitis, and the current treatment is supportive.

?

CoCID is an EU-funded project, initiated by SiriusXT, whose major objective is to demonstrate the benefits of using soft x-ray microscopy as a research tool to assist virologists in understanding the intracellular phases of viral reproduction as well as to develop treatments to inhibit virus spread. Hepatitis-E is one of the virus use cases being addressed by project CoCID, with this research being led by Dr. Nicola Fletcher, Assistant Professor of Veterinary Bioscience at University College Dublin.

?

Hepatitis-E is particularly difficult to culture outside of the body, making research into the virus extremely difficult. A key focus of Dr. Fletcher’s research is to develop model systems that mimic the features of livers in the laboratory. Her team is currently developing liver organoids, which are 3D spherical 'mini livers', to better understand how HEV infects both pig and human liver cells.

''We are using a newly developed soft x-ray microscope, based at UCD and developed by SiriusXT Ltd, to visualise infected cells in exquisite detail, which will give us a unique insight into the mechanisms that HEV uses to infect cells.?

''CoCID employs soft x-ray microscopy to bridge the current gap between light and electron microscopy and will serve as an interface for correlative studies'', said Dr. Fletcher.

Read the full article here: https://www.veterinaryirelandjournal.com/ucd-research/208-a-one-health-approach-to-the-study-of-hepatitis-e-virus

?