1. Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence of domestic pigs in Germany determined by a novel in-house and two reference ELISAs.
- Author
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Dremsek P, Joel S, Baechlein C, Pavio N, Schielke A, Ziller M, Dürrwald R, Renner C, Groschup MH, Johne R, Krumbholz A, and Ulrich RG
- Subjects
- Animals, Antigens, Viral, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay methods, Germany epidemiology, Immunoglobulin G blood, Recombinant Proteins, Sensitivity and Specificity, Seroepidemiologic Studies, Sus scrofa, Swine, Swine Diseases virology, Antibodies, Viral blood, Hepatitis E epidemiology, Swine Diseases epidemiology, Veterinary Medicine methods, Virology methods
- Abstract
Autochthonous hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections by zoonotic transmission of genotype 3 (GT3) have been reported increasingly from industrialized countries. In this paper the development and validation of an IgG ELISA for the detection of HEV-specific antibodies in domestic pigs is described. Comparison of the diagnostic value of Escherichia coli-expressed HEV-GT3 capsid protein (CP) derivatives revealed a carboxy-terminal derivative as most suitable. Validation of the in-house assay using a commercially available IgG ELISA revealed a high diagnostic specificity and sensitivity. The average HEV seroprevalence of domestic pigs from Germany and the federal state Baden-Wuerttemberg determined by the in-house test was 42.7% and 50.3%, respectively. The seroprevalence in different districts of Baden-Wuerttemberg ranged from 34.9% to 60%, but from 0% to 100% between different herds. These data were compared to those achieved by two commercially available ELISA kits and an in-house ratHEV-based ELISA. In conclusion, the CP-based in-house test proved sensitive and specific, indicating that the ORF3-encoded protein might be dispensable for diagnostics. The novel assay also allowed a parallel analysis by a homologous ratHEV-derived antigen. Thus, the novel IgG ELISA represents a useful tool for future standardized seroprevalence studies in domestic pigs from Germany and other regions of Europe., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2013
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