Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Geographic and Temporal Variability of Hepatitis E Virus Circulation in Non-Endemic Territories

Mikhail I. Mikhailov
,
Anastasia A. Karlsen
,
Ilya A. Potemkin
ORCID logo ,
Olga V. Isaeva
,
Vera S. Kichatova
ORCID logo ,
Elena Yu. Malinnikova
,
Fedor A. Asadi Mobarkhan
,
Eugeniy V. Mullin
,
Maria A. Lopatukhina
,
Victor Manuylov
ORCID logo ,
Elena P. Mazunina
,
Evgeniia N. Bykonia
ORCID logo ,
Denis A. Kleymenov
,
Liubov I. Popova
,
Vladimir A. Gushchin
,
Artem P. Tkachuk
,
Andrey D. Polyakov
,
Ahmed M. El-Adly
,
Sergey A. Solonin
,
Ilya Gordeychuk
ORCID logo ,
Karen Kyuregyan
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 14 November 2022 / Approved: 15 November 2022 / Online: 15 November 2022 (10:28:45 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Mikhailov, M.I.; Karlsen, A.A.; Potemkin, I.A.; Isaeva, O.V.; Kichatova, V.S.; Malinnikova, E.Y.; Asadi Mobarkhan, F.A.; Mullin, E.V.; Lopatukhina, M.A.; Manuylov, V.A.; Mazunina, E.P.; Bykonia, E.N.; Kleymenov, D.A.; Popova, L.I.; Gushchin, V.A.; Tkachuk, A.P.; Polyakov, A.D.; Eladly, A.M.; Solonin, S.A.; Gordeychuk, I.V.; Kyuregyan, K.K. Geographic and Temporal Variability of Hepatitis E VirusCirculation in the Russian Federation. Viruses 2023, 15, 37. Mikhailov, M.I.; Karlsen, A.A.; Potemkin, I.A.; Isaeva, O.V.; Kichatova, V.S.; Malinnikova, E.Y.; Asadi Mobarkhan, F.A.; Mullin, E.V.; Lopatukhina, M.A.; Manuylov, V.A.; Mazunina, E.P.; Bykonia, E.N.; Kleymenov, D.A.; Popova, L.I.; Gushchin, V.A.; Tkachuk, A.P.; Polyakov, A.D.; Eladly, A.M.; Solonin, S.A.; Gordeychuk, I.V.; Kyuregyan, K.K. Geographic and Temporal Variability of Hepatitis E VirusCirculation in the Russian Federation. Viruses 2023, 15, 37.

Abstract

The factors influencing hepatitis E virus (HEV) circulation remain largely unexplored. We investigated HEV seroprevalence in humans and the prevalence of infection in farm pigs and rabbits in different regions of the Russian Federation, as well as the genetic diversity and population dynamics of HEV. Anti-HEV IgG antibody detection rates in the general population increase significantly with age, from 1.5% in children and adolescents under 20 years old to 4.8% in adults aged between 20 and 59 years old, to 16.7% in people aged 60 years and older. HEV seroprevalence varies between regions, with the highest rate observed in Belgorod Region (16.4% compared with the national average of 4.6%), which also has the country’s highest pig population. When compared with the archival data, both increases and declines in HEV seroprevalence have been observed within the last 10 years, depending on the study region. Virus shedding has been detected in 19 out of the 21 pig farms surveyed. On one farm, circulation of the same viral strain for five years was documented. All human and animal strains belonged to the HEV-3 genotype, with its clade 2 sequences being predominant in pigs. Sequences from patients, pigs, and sewage from pig farms clustered together, suggesting a zoonotic infection in humans and possible environmental contamination. The HEV-3 population size predicted using SkyGrid reconstruction demonstrated exponential growth in the 1970s–1990s, with a subsequent decline followed by a short rise around the year 2010, the pattern being similar to the dynamics of the pig population in the country. The HEV-3 reproduction number (Re) predicted using Birth-Death Skyline analysis has fluctuated around 1 over the past 20 years in Russia, but is 10 times higher in Belgorod Region. In conclusion, HEV-3 circulation varies both geographically and temporally, even within a single country. The possible factors contributing to this variability are largely related to the circulation of the virus among farm pigs.

Keywords

Hepatitis E virus; Paslahepevirus balayani; seroprevalence; molecular epidemiology; zoonosis; disease outbreaks

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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