The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

Georgia Veterinary Scholars Program

GVSP Summer 2009 Scholars

Georgia Veterinary Scholar

Faculty Mentor

Jessica Mobley
University of Georgia
Class of 2012

Dr. Elizabeth Howerth
Deparment of Veterinary Pathology

UGA College of Veterinary Medicine

Serologic and Molecular Evaluation of Cats from Georgia for Hepatitis E Virus

* J. Mobley under the direction of E. Howerth

Causes of hepatitis are poorly studied in cats, particularly lymphocytic portal hepatitis (LPH). LPH is similar clinically and histologically to hepatitis seen in humans and pigs infected with Hepatitis E Virus (HEV). HEV is an enterically transmitted non-enveloped, positive single stranded RNA virus in the new virus family Hepeviridae; it is endemic in humans in developing countries with sporadic disease also occurring in developed countries. HEV has only been identified in humans, chickens, and pigs; however, we hypothesized that HEV may be a cause of LPH in cats. The objective of this study was to determine if cats have evidence of a HEV, using PCR, serology, and correlating viral presence or antibodies to either histopathologic or clinical evidence of hepatitis. Bile, liver, and intestinal contents from cats (n = 64) submitted to the UGA AVDL for necropsy were screened for HEV using a universal nRT-PCR and qRT-PCR, both known to amplify all known HEVs. Serum from 13 of these cats—as well as serum from 44 cats submitted to the UGA Clinical Pathology Laboratory—was screened for HEV antibodies using immunoblotting. HEV or antibodies to HEV were not detected. Of the necropsy cats, 18 of 40 had hepatitis but only 5 had LPH. Fourteen of the 44 cats for which only serum was available had serum biochemical evidence of hepatic disease. Negative results may be explained by small sample size or virus genomic variability. However, the zoonotic potential of HEV warrants further studies of this virus in cats.