Article ID: 26-0334
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic pathogen, but recent nationwide data in Korean wild boars are limited. We investigated HEV RNA in 997 serum samples collected during 2024–2025. Sequence-confirmed HEV was identified in 46 animals (4.6%). Positivity was highest in autumn (7.7%); at the regional level, the highest positivity was observed in Jeolla (7.0%). Positivity was higher in the 20–40 and 40–60 kg groups (7.0% and 7.7%) than in >60 kg animals (2.8%). All 46 sequences belonged to genotype 4, clustering mainly with subtype 4a and partly with subtype 4d reference strains. One wild-boar sequence showed 97.6% nucleotide identity with a Korean human HEV-4 strain. These findings provide a recent nationwide update and support continued molecular surveillance of HEV in Korean wild boars.
Journal of The Japanese Society of Veterinary Science
