FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Veterinary medicine and science2019; 5(3); 372-378; doi: 10.1002/vms3.181

Chronic equine hepacivirus infection in an adult gelding with severe hepatopathy.

Abstract: Equine hepacivirus (EqHV) in equids represents the closest homologue to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infecting humans. A majority of HCV infected patients develop a chronic course of infection leading to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver failure. However, in horses mostly transient mild subclinical infections are reported for EqHV to date. EqHV can be involved in chronic liver diseases of horses. Biochemical parameters in serum samples were measured. Viral load was determined using qPCR. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of serum was performed. Liver tissue was stained with haematoxylin and eosin and analysed for viral RNA with fluorescent in situ-hybridization. The horse showed symptoms of severe hepatopathy and was chronically infected with EqHV. Viral RNA was detectable in the liver during disease. To rule out other infectious agents NGS was performed and showed the highest abundance for EqHV. The identified virus sequence was similar to other circulating equine hepaciviruses. EqHV can be associated with liver disease in horses. Whether it causes the disease or contributes in a multifactorial manner needs further investigation.
© 2019 The Authors. Veterinary Medicine and Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2019-07-03 PubMed ID: 31267690PubMed Central: PMC6682795DOI: 10.1002/vms3.181Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Case Reports
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research examines a case of chronic equine hepacivirus (EqHV) infection in a horse, showing signs of severe liver disease. The study explores how EqHV, which closely mirrors the human hepatitis C virus, can possibly be connected with chronic liver diseases in horses.

Equine Hepacivirus and its Similarity to Hepatitis C

  • Equine hepacivirus (EqHV), which infects equids (family of horses, donkeys, and zebras), is the closest known homologue to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) which affects humans.
  • Just like how chronic HCV infection can lead to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver failure in humans, the study suggests that EqHV can potentially have similar effects in horses.

Case Presentation and Investigation

  • The observed horse showed symptoms of severe hepatopathy, a term referring to diseases of the liver, and was found to be chronically infected with EqHV.
  • Research tools including the measurement of biochemical parameters in serum samples, determining viral load using qPCR, next generation sequencing (NGS) of serum, and testing of liver tissue were used to understand the infection better.
  • Notably, the virus sequence identified was similar to other circulating equine hepaciviruses, suggesting a broader relevance to the study’s findings.
  • Next generation sequencing helped rule out the presence of other infectious agents, strengthening the focus on EqHV as a likely contributor to the liver disease.

Association of EqHV with Liver Disease

  • The findings indicate that EqHV can be potentially associated with chronic liver diseases in horses.
  • Further, viral RNA from EqHV was detectable in the liver during the observed disease stage, supporting its plausible role in causing or contributing to the liver disease.
  • However, the study notes that whether EqHV alone causes the disease or contributes in a multifactorial manner remains to be fully understood and requires more research.

Cite This Article

APA
Tegtmeyer B, Echelmeyer J, Pfankuche VM, Puff C, Todt D, Fischer N, Durham A, Feige K, Baumgärtner W, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JV. (2019). Chronic equine hepacivirus infection in an adult gelding with severe hepatopathy. Vet Med Sci, 5(3), 372-378. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.181

Publication

Veterinary medicine and science
ISSN: 2053-1095
NlmUniqueID: 101678837
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 5
Issue: 3
Pages: 372-378

Researcher Affiliations

Tegtmeyer, Birthe
  • Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Hannover, Germany.
Echelmeyer, Julia
  • Clinic for Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.
Pfankuche, Vanessa M
  • Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
Puff, Christina
  • Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
Todt, Daniel
  • Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Hannover, Germany.
  • Department of Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Fischer, Nicole
  • Institute of Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
  • German Center for Infection Research, Partner Site Hamburg-Borstel-Lübeck-Riems, Hamburg, Germany.
Durham, Andy
  • Liphook Equine Hospital, Liphook, United Kingdom.
Feige, Karsten
  • Clinic for Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.
Baumgärtner, Wolfgang
  • Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
Steinmann, Eike
  • Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Medical School Hannover (MHH), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Hannover, Germany.
  • Department of Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Cavalleri, Jessika-M V
  • Clinic for Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.
  • Department for Companion Animals and Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Chronic Disease / veterinary
  • Hepacivirus / isolation & purification
  • Hepatitis C / diagnosis
  • Hepatitis C / veterinary
  • Hepatitis C / virology
  • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses
  • Liver Diseases / diagnosis
  • Liver Diseases / pathology
  • Liver Diseases / veterinary
  • Liver Diseases / virology
  • Male

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

References

This article includes 15 references
  1. Baechlein C, Fischer N, Grundhoff A, Alawi M, Indenbirken D, Postel A. Identification of a novel hepacivirus in domestic cattle from Germany. Journal of Virology 89, 7007–7015.
    doi: 10.1128/JVI.00534-15pmc: PMC4473572pubmed: 25926652google scholar: lookup
  2. Burbelo PD, Dubovi EJ, Simmonds P, Medina JL, Henriquez JA, Mishra N. Serology‐enabled discovery of genetically diverse hepaciviruses in a new host. Journal of Virology 86, 6171–6178.
    doi: 10.1128/JVI.00250-12pmc: PMC3372197pubmed: 22491452google scholar: lookup
  3. Divers TJ, Tennant BC, Kumar A, Cullen JM, Bhuva N, Jain K. New parvovirus associated with serum hepatitis in horses after inoculation of common biological product. Emerging Infectious Diseases 24, 303–310.
    doi: 10.3201/eid2402.171031pmc: PMC5782890pubmed: 29350162google scholar: lookup
  4. Fischer N, Rohde H, Indenbirken D, Günther T, Reumann K, Lütgehetmann M. Rapid metagenomic diagnostics for suspected outbreak of severe pneumonia. Emerging Infectious Diseases 20, 1072–1075.
    doi: 10.3201/eid2006.131526pmc: PMC4036763pubmed: 24857411google scholar: lookup
  5. Fischer N, Indenbirken D, Meyer T, Lutgehetmann M, Lellek H, Spohn M. Evaluation of unbiased next‐generation sequencing of RNA (RNA‐seq) as a diagnostic method in influenza virus‐positive respiratory samples. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 53, 2238–2250.
    doi: 10.1128/JCM.02495-14pmc: PMC4473199pubmed: 25972420google scholar: lookup
  6. Hajarizadeh B, Grebely J, Dore G. Epidemiology and natural history of HCV infection. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology 10, 553.
    doi: 10.1038/nrgastro.2013.107pubmed: 23817321google scholar: lookup
  7. Kumar S, Stecher G, Tamura K. MEGA7: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 7.0 for bigger datasets. Molecular Biology and Evolution 33, 1870–1874.
    doi: 10.1093/molbev/msw054pmc: PMC8210823pubmed: 27004904google scholar: lookup
  8. Nei M, Kumar S. Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics. .
  9. Pfaender S, Brown RJ, Pietschmann T, Steinmann E. Natural reservoirs for homologs of hepatitis C virus. Emerging Microbes & Infections 3, e21.
    doi: 10.1038/emi.2014.19pmc: PMC3974340pubmed: 26038514google scholar: lookup
  10. Pfaender S, Cavalleri JM, Walter S, Doerrbecker J, Campana B, Brown RJ. Clinical course of infection and viral tissue tropism of hepatitis C virus–like nonprimate hepaciviruses in horses. Hepatology 61, 447–459.
    doi: 10.1002/hep.27440pubmed: 25212983google scholar: lookup
  11. Pfaender S, Walter S, Grabski E, Todt D, Bruening J, Romero‐Brey I. Immune protection against reinfection with nonprimate hepacivirus. PNAS 114, E2430–E2439.
    pmc: PMC5373355pubmed: 28275093
  12. Ramsay JD, Evanoff R, Wilkinson TE Jr, Divers TJ, Knowles DP, Mealey RH. Experimental transmission of equine hepacivirus in horses as a model for hepatitis C virus. Hepatology 61, 1533–1546.
    doi: 10.1002/hep.27689pubmed: 25580897google scholar: lookup
  13. Reichert C, Campe A, Walter S, Pfaender S, Welsch K, Ruddat I. Frequent occurrence of nonprimate hepacivirus infections in Thoroughbred breeding horses ‐ a cross‐sectional study for the occurrence of infections and potential risk factors. Veterinary Microbiology 203, 315–322.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2017.03.030pubmed: 28619163google scholar: lookup
  14. Reuter G, Maza N, Pankovics P, Boros A. Non‐primate hepacivirus infection with apparent hepatitis in a horse ‐ short communication. Acta Veterinaria Hungarica 62, 422–427.
    doi: 10.1556/AVet.2014.011pubmed: 25038950google scholar: lookup
  15. Scheel TKH, Kapoor A, Nishiuchi E, Brock KV, Yu Y, Andrus L. Characterization of nonprimate hepacivirus and construction of a functional molecular clone. PNAS 112, 2192–2197.
    doi: 10.1073/pnas.1500265112pmc: PMC4343093pubmed: 25646476google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 20 times.
  1. Hake N, von Holtum C, Höper D, Nijhof AM, Dietze K, Hoffmann B. Identification and Long-Term Detection of Hepacivirus bovis Genotype 1 and 2 on a Cattle Farm in Germany. Viruses 2026 Jan 6;18(1).
    doi: 10.3390/v18010078pubmed: 41600842google scholar: lookup
  2. Kayesh MEH, Sanada T, Kohara M, Tsukiyama-Kohara K. Natural Hepacivirus Infection in Tree Shrews: A Call for Routine Screening in Hepatitis Virus Research. Viruses 2025 Dec 23;18(1).
    doi: 10.3390/v18010027pubmed: 41600792google scholar: lookup
  3. Jager MC, Luethy D, Shallop S, Cathcart J, Divers TJ, Tan JY, Beasley EM, Johnson P, Leduc L, Smith C, Jamieson CA, Magdesian KG, Van de Walle GR, Tomlinson JE. Chronic hepatitis in horses with persistent equine hepacivirus infection. Equine Vet J 2026 Mar;58(2):444-457.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.70124pubmed: 41448947google scholar: lookup
  4. Tharwat M, Elmoghazy HMM, Haridy M. Breaking new ground: first report of integrating clinical, hematobiochemical, sonographic, and pathological findings in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) with hepatic fibrosis. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1639628.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1639628pubmed: 40703928google scholar: lookup
  5. Frisch V, Ramsauer AS, Preining I, Unterköfler MS, Fuehrer HP, Hofer M, Lyrakis M, Bouhsira E, Liénard E, Cavalleri JV. First detection of equine hepacivirus RNA in Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera, Muscidae) in eastern Austria. BMC Vet Res 2025 Jul 17;21(1):474.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04890-xpubmed: 40676642google scholar: lookup
  6. Fortier C, El-Hage C, Normand C, Hue ES, Sutton G, Marcillaud-Pitel C, Jeffers K, Bamford N, Oden E, Paillot R, Hartley C, Gilkerson J, Pronost S. Detection of Equine Parvovirus-Hepatitis Virus and Equine Hepacivirus in Archived Sera from Horses in France and Australia. Viruses 2024 May 28;16(6).
    doi: 10.3390/v16060862pubmed: 38932156google scholar: lookup
  7. Nardini R, Pacchiarotti G, Svicher V, Salpini R, Bellocchi MC, Conti R, Sala MG, La Rocca D, Carioti L, Cersini A, Manna G, The Equine Hepatic Viruses Consortium, Scicluna MT. First National Prevalence in Italian Horse Population and Phylogenesis Highlight a Fourth Sub-Type Candidate of Equine Hepacivirus. Viruses 2024 Apr 16;16(4).
    doi: 10.3390/v16040616pubmed: 38675957google scholar: lookup
  8. Jager MC, Choi E, Tomlinson JE, Van de Walle G. Naturally acquired equine parvovirus-hepatitis is associated with a wide range of hepatic lesions in horses. Vet Pathol 2024 May;61(3):442-452.
    doi: 10.1177/03009858231214024pubmed: 38018088google scholar: lookup
  9. Cavalleri JV, Korbacska-Kutasi O, Leblond A, Paillot R, Pusterla N, Steinmann E, Tomlinson J. European College of Equine Internal Medicine consensus statement on equine flaviviridae infections in Europe. J Vet Intern Med 2022 Nov;36(6):1858-1871.
    doi: 10.1111/jvim.16581pubmed: 36367340google scholar: lookup
  10. Pacchiarotti G, Nardini R, Scicluna MT. Equine Hepacivirus: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis of Serological and Biomolecular Prevalence and a Phylogenetic Update. Animals (Basel) 2022 Sep 20;12(19).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12192486pubmed: 36230228google scholar: lookup
  11. Jiang J, Hao Y, He B, Su L, Li X, Liu X, Chen C, Chen L, Zhao Z, Mi S, Deng X, Gong W, Tu C. Severe Acute Hepatitis Outbreaks Associated with a Novel Hepacivirus in Rhizomys pruinosus in Hainan, China. J Virol 2022 Sep 14;96(17):e0078222.
    doi: 10.1128/jvi.00782-22pubmed: 36005760google scholar: lookup
  12. Gömer A, Delarocque J, Puff C, Nocke MK, Reinecke B, Baumgärtner W, Cavalleri JMV, Feige K, Steinmann E, Todt D. Dose-Dependent Hepacivirus Infection Reveals Linkage between Infectious Dose and Immune Response. Microbiol Spectr 2022 Oct 26;10(5):e0168622.
    doi: 10.1128/spectrum.01686-22pubmed: 35993785google scholar: lookup
  13. Gömer A, Puff C, Reinecke B, Bracht S, Conze M, Baumgärtner W, Steinmann J, Feige K, Cavalleri JMV, Steinmann E, Todt D. Experimental cross-species infection of donkeys with equine hepacivirus and analysis of host immune signatures. One Health Outlook 2022 May 9;4(1):9.
    doi: 10.1186/s42522-022-00065-ypubmed: 35527255google scholar: lookup
  14. Gömer A, Brown RJP, Pfaender S, Deterding K, Reuter G, Orton R, Seitz S, Bock CT, Cavalleri JMV, Pietschmann T, Wedemeyer H, Steinmann E, Todt D. Intra-host analysis of hepaciviral glycoprotein evolution reveals signatures associated with viral persistence and clearance. Virus Evol 2022;8(1):veac007.
    doi: 10.1093/ve/veac007pubmed: 35242360google scholar: lookup
  15. Yoon J, Park T, Kim A, Park J, Park BJ, Ahn HS, Go HJ, Kim DH, Jung S, Seo Y, Lee JB, Park SY, Song CS, Lee SW, Choi IS. First Clinical Case of Equine Parvovirus-Hepatitis-Related Theiler's Disease in Asia. Viruses 2021 Sep 24;13(10).
    doi: 10.3390/v13101917pubmed: 34696347google scholar: lookup
  16. Ramsauer AS, Badenhorst M, Cavalleri JV. Equine parvovirus hepatitis. Equine Vet J 2021 Sep;53(5):886-894.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.13477pubmed: 34101906google scholar: lookup
  17. Tomlinson JE, Wolfisberg R, Fahnøe U, Patel RS, Trivedi S, Kumar A, Sharma H, Nielsen L, McDonough SP, Bukh J, Tennant BC, Kapoor A, Rosenberg BR, Rice CM, Divers TJ, Van de Walle GR, Scheel TKH. Pathogenesis, MicroRNA-122 Gene-Regulation, and Protective Immune Responses After Acute Equine Hepacivirus Infection. Hepatology 2021 Sep;74(3):1148-1163.
    doi: 10.1002/hep.31802pubmed: 33713356google scholar: lookup
  18. Tomlinson JE, Wolfisberg R, Fahnøe U, Sharma H, Renshaw RW, Nielsen L, Nishiuchi E, Holm C, Dubovi E, Rosenberg BR, Tennant BC, Bukh J, Kapoor A, Divers TJ, Rice CM, Van de Walle GR, Scheel TKH. Equine pegiviruses cause persistent infection of bone marrow and are not associated with hepatitis. PLoS Pathog 2020 Jul;16(7):e1008677.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008677pubmed: 32649726google scholar: lookup
  19. Lönker NS, Fechner K, Wahed AAE. Horses as a Crucial Part of One Health. Vet Sci 2020 Feb 29;7(1).
    doi: 10.3390/vetsci7010028pubmed: 32121327google scholar: lookup
  20. Duncan JD, Urbanowicz RA, Tarr AW, Ball JK. Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine: Challenges and Prospects. Vaccines (Basel) 2020 Feb 17;8(1).
    doi: 10.3390/vaccines8010090pubmed: 32079254google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,780 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.