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Original scientific paper

Hepatitis E Virus Infections in Horses, Dogs and Cats in the Republic of Croatia

Lucija Rogić orcid id orcid.org/0000-0002-7682-5960
Vladimir Stevanović ; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Iva Benvin ; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Pavle Jeličić ; Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Ljubo Barbić ; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia


Full text: croatian pdf 312 Kb

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Abstract

Hepatitis E is an emerging zoonosis and of growing public health importance worldwide. In the last decade, it has been established itself in humans in the territory of the Republic of Croatia (RH), and a high seroprevalence has been proven in wild boars and pigs. In the Republic of Croatia, the possibilities of infection of other animal species were also investigated. The virus was detected in yellow-throated mice, while the other species studied were negative. Horses, dogs and cats have not been investigated so far, and the aim of this study was to investigate for the first time the presence and seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus infection in horses and pets in the Republic of Croatia. For this purpose, a total of 264 horse serum samples, 308 dog serum samples and 88 cat serum samples were tested using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All the tested serum samples from horses and cats were negative, while hepatitis E virus infection was confirmed in one dog so that the seroprevalence in dogs was 0.3%. The negative results in horses indicate the low prevalence of the pathogen in the environment, and the negative results in cats, as well as the low seroprevalence in dogs, indicate that pets in urban areas have negligible exposure to the hepatitis E virus and consequently do not play a significant role in public health. On the other hand, in serologically positive dogs, the clinical manifestations and laboratory findings corresponded to those in people with hepatitis E. Therefore, in clinical practice, in cases of hepatitis in dogs, it is necessary to exclude this emerging zoonotic pathogen to monitor the clinical significance of HEV infections in dogs and the potential risk to public health.

Keywords

hepatitis E; seroprevalence; horse; dog; cat; Republic of Croatia

Hrčak ID:

273571

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/273571

Publication date:

20.1.2022.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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