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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Infectious Diseases
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1422001

Serological survey on Hepatitis E virus in Namibian dogs, cats, horses, and donkeys

Provisionally accepted
Umberto Molini Umberto Molini 1Giovanni Franzo Giovanni Franzo 2*Lourens De Villiers Lourens De Villiers 1Leandra Van Zyl Leandra Van Zyl 1Mari De Villiers Mari De Villiers 1Siegfried Khaiseb Siegfried Khaiseb 3Frank Busch Frank Busch 4Sascha Knauf Sascha Knauf 4Klaas Dietze Klaas Dietze 4Martin Eiden Martin Eiden 4
  • 1 School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
  • 2 Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, School of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
  • 3 Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL), Windhoek, Namibia
  • 4 Institute for Virus Diagnostics, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The present study investigated the seropositivity rate of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) in domestic and working animals in Namibia, which included dogs, cats, horses, and donkeys. HEV poses a growing threat as a significant cause of human hepatitis globally and has several genotypes of varying zoonotic potential. As epidemiological data on the seroprevalence of HEV in Namibia is scarce, a serosurvey was conducted on archived serum samples of 374 dogdogs, 238 catcats, 98 horsehorses, and 60 donkeys archived serum samples collected between 2018 and 2022 from different regions, to assess the potential of these animals as sources of HEV infection. The findings revealed that 10.43 % (n = 39/374) canine and 5.88 % (n = 14/238) feline samples tested positive for HEV antibodies, whereas no seropositivity was detected in horses and donkeys. The study further examined the risk factors associated with HEV seropositivity, including animal sex, age, and geographical region, and noted a higher prevalence in dogs living in areas with intensive pig farming. Although there is no direct evidence indicating that these animals served as major reservoirs for HEV transmission to humans, the study underscores the importance of preventive measures to minimize contact exposure with pets considering the potential zoonotic risk, especially for susceptible risk groups. Further research is needed to explore the zoonotic potential of domestic animals and the epidemiological links between animal and human HEV transmissions in Namibia.

    Keywords: HEV, Namibia, Seropositivity: Pets, Horses, Donkeys, zoonosis

    Received: 22 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Molini, Franzo, De Villiers, Van Zyl, De Villiers, Khaiseb, Busch, Knauf, Dietze and Eiden. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Giovanni Franzo, Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, School of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

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