SEARCH FOR NEW HEPATITIS AGENTS

在1980年，我们描述了一种新的病毒性肝炎， 具有HAV流行病学特征的未识别肝炎病毒 (i.e.,该病毒是粪口传播，产生水传播， 流行病，并可能负责很大一部分， 地方性肝炎），但与HAV无关。这种疾病被称为 流行性或肠道传播的非甲、非乙型肝炎或戊型肝炎。 这种肝炎在整个印度都是流行病和地方病 次大陆、中亚、中东和北方非洲的部分地区， 可能延伸到西非。这种疾病的流行也 发生在墨西哥。假定的病原体，27- 30 nm无包膜 在1983年的一项志愿者研究中发现了一种类似病毒的病毒， 在其他一些病例的粪便中检测到了颗粒 爆发。少量的这种病毒样颗粒可用于 研究进展有限，但现在可以生物放大 从实验感染的食蟹猴中收集胆汁 猴子这些猴子和黑猩猩的肝脏 接种后28天的酶。通过以下方法在分子上扩增HEV的努力 逆转录和PCR已经成功， 已获得两种HEV毒株。 1989年，新生儿（巨细胞）可能的副粘病毒病因 肝炎提出，根据电子显微镜的变化，看到在 患有这种疾病的患者的肝脏。合作研究，包括 将疾病传染给灵长类动物的尝试已经开始。 该项目的目标是确定和描述新的 肝炎的病原体，并开发有用的检测方法， 感染和血清流行病学研究。长远目标是 发展被动和主动免疫预防， 人类病原体

In 1980 we described a new form of viral hepatitis caused by a previously unrecognized hepatitis virus with epidemiologic characteristics of HAV (i.e., the virus is fecal-orally transmitted, produces water-borne epidemics and is probably responsible for a significant proportion of endemic hepatitis) but not related to HAV. The disease has been called epidemic or enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis or hepatitis E. Such hepatitis is both epidemic and endemic throughout the Indian subcontinent, central Asia, parts of the Middle East and northern Africa, with probable extension to West Africa. Epidemics of the disease have also occurred in Mexico. The putative etiologic agent, a 27-30nm nonenveloped virus, was identified in a volunteer study in 1983 and similar virus-like particles have been detected in feces of cases in a number of other outbreaks. The small quantity of such virus-like particles available for study has limited progress but it is now possible to biologically amplify the virus by collecting bile from experimentally infected cynomologous monkeys. These monkeys as well as chimpanzees develop an elevation of liver enzymes 28 days past inoculation. Efforts to amplify HEV molecularly by reverse transcription and PCR have been successful and partial sequences of two HEV strains have been obtained. In 1989 a possible paramyxovirus etiology for neonatal (giant cell) hepatitis was proposed, based on electron micrographic changes seen in the livers of patients with this disease. Collaborative studies, including attempts to transmit the disease to primates, have been initiated. The objectives of this project are to identify and characterize new etiologic agents of hepatitis and to develop useful assays for diagnosis of infection and seroepidemiologic studies. A longer term objective is the development of passive and active immunoprophylaxis for these important human pathogens.