If the virus incorporates host genetic segments into its genome, the infection may become chronic. Why does Hepatitis E become chronic in some patients, and why do medications not work? To find out, an international research team led by scientists from Bochum observed a patient with chronic Hepatitis E infection over a year. Repeated sequencing of the virus RNA showed that the virus incorporated various parts of the host's messenger RNA into its genome.
This resulted in a replication advantage, which may have contributed to the infection becoming chronic. The so-called insertion of host RNA can possibly predict the transition of an acute infection to a chronic condition." Dr.
Daniel Todt, head of the Computational Virology research group, Department of Medical and Molecular Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany The researchers report in the journal Nature Communications on June 6, 2024. Around 20 million people worldwide contract Hepatitis E every year. Normally, the infection heals without consequences, but it can be life-threatening for pregnant women or people with suppressed immune systems.
In some cases, it becomes chronic. There are no specific effective medications. The broad-spectrum antiviral drug Ribavirin is also used against Hepatitis E, but it does not always work.
How can the virus evade the immune system? Why does the infection become chronic and not heal? The researchers wanted to find out and analyzed for the first time all virus populations of a chronica.