Nationwide epidemiologic and genetic surveillance of hepatitis E in Japan, 2014

Nationwide epidemiologic and genetic surveillance of hepatitis E in Japan, 2014–2021

Published:2023-06 Issue:6 Volume:95 Page:
ISSN:0146-6615
Container-title:Journal of Medical Virology
language:en
Short-container-title:Journal of Medical Virology

Author:

Sugiyama Ryuichi¹,Takahara Osamu²,Yahata Yuichiro³,Kanou Kazuhiko³⁴,Nagashima Mami⁵,Kiyohara Tomoko¹,Li Tian‐Cheng¹,Arima Yuzo²,Shinomiya Hiroto⁶,Ishii Koji⁴,Muramatsu Masamichi¹⁷,Suzuki Ryosuke¹⁸^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Virology II National Institute of Infectious Diseases Tokyo Japan

2. Center for Surveillance, Immunization and Epidemiologic Research National Institute of Infectious Diseases Tokyo Japan

3. Center for Field Epidemic Intelligence, Research and Professional Development National Institute of Infectious Diseases Tokyo Japan

4. Department of Quality Assurance, Radiation Safety, and Information Management National Institute of Infectious Diseases Tokyo Japan

5. Department of Microbiology Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health Tokyo Japan

6. Ehime Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science Ehime Japan

7. Department of Infectious Disease Research Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation at Kobe Kobe Japan

8. Department of Biological Science and Technology Tokyo University of Science Tokyo Japan

Abstract

AbstractHepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging causative agent of acute hepatitis. To clarify the epidemiology of HEV and characterize the genetic diversity of the virus in Japan, nationwide enhanced surveillance and molecular characterization studies of HEV in Japan were undertaken from 2014 to 2021. In total, 2770 hepatitis E cases were reported, of which 88% were domestic cases, while only 4.1% represented cases following infection abroad. In addition, 57% of domestic infections occurred in males aged in their 40s–70s. For domestic cases, infection via pork meat consumption continued to be the most reported route. Analysis of the 324 sequences detected between 2016 and 2021 showed that the majority of domestic HEV strains belong to Genotype 3a (G3a) and G3b. In contrast, six of eight cases of G1 HEV reflected infection abroad. Our results suggest that HEV is circulating widely in Japan, with genotypes G3a and G3b being most prevalent. Continued surveillance is necessary to monitor future trends and changes in the epidemiology of HEV in Japan.

Funder

Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Publisher

Wiley

Subject

Infectious Diseases,Virology

Link

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jmv.28886

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