Chronic hepatitis in Doberman pinschers. A review

Chronic hepatitis in Doberman pinschers is predominantly seen in female dogs, usually between 4 and 7 years of age and was first recognized in the early eighties. The histopathological characteristics of Doberman hepatitis are those of micronodular cirrhosis with histological features of fibrosis, piece meal necrosis and progressive lymphocyte and plasma cell infiltration of the portal triads. Currently there are two hypotheses on the pathogenesis although neither of them has been elucidated. The first hypothesis is that of a copper toxicosis. The second is that of autoimmunity. Similarities and differences with other breeds and studies on both hypotheses are reviewed, as well as results of recent research of our group. Based on recent findings chronic hepatitis in Doberman pinschers is most likely to be a form of copper toxicosis. Although there are several indications that suggest autoimmunity as well, this still remains unclear.     

Prevalence of hepatitis E virus infection among people and swine in mainland China: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection remains an important public health problem, and it is endemic primarily in developing countries. This study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of HEV among the general population, occupational population and swine in mainland China and its risk factors based on a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Systematic search from EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and several Chinese databases, such as Wanfang (WF) Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database (VIP) and SINOMED, was searched from inception up to 25 April 2018. The overall seroprevalence of HEV and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) as well as the correlation coefficients between different groups were estimated using stata 12.0 and r ‐3.4.1 software. Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored using subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Twenty‐eight studies with 57,274 participants (including human and swine) were included. The seroprevalence of anti‐HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) among the general population, occupational population and swine was 27.3% (95% CI: 22.4–32.2), 47.4% (95% CI: 40.1–54.8) and 66.4% (95% CI: 61.7–71.1), respectively. The overall prevalence of IgM among the general population was 1.8% (95% CI: 0.7–2.9). The odds ratio for the occupational population, as compared to the general population, was 2.63. The highest anti‐HEV IgG prevalence (59%) was observed in East China, whereas the lowest (34.8%) was noted in Northeast and North China. In the occupational population, the highest prevalence (77.0%) was observed among swine vendors. Seven studies included 30,392 participants (humans and swine); the correlation coefficient for the prevalence of anti‐HEV IgG between the professional population and adult pigs was 0.88. Sensitivity analyses showed that the stability of results was not considered significant. This research found that HEV is common in China, and contact with pork or other pig products may be an important mode of HEV transmission.