Key result
Wild mallard DHBV induces higher viraemia than domestic Pekin isolates, unlinked to liver lesion severity.
Why the study?
Duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infection and its effects in wild migratory mallards and domestic Pekin ducks were not fully characterized over time.
Does the virus isolate or duck breed determine the intensity of viraemia and severity of liver lesions in DHBV infection?
Does the virus isolate or duck breed determine the intensity of viraemia and severity of liver lesions in DHBV infection?
The intensity of viraemia in DHBV-infected ducks is determined by the virus isolate rather than the duck breed, and hepatic injury is likely immunologically mediated.
Virus isolate drives DHBV viraemia independently of breed; leaves open immunopathogenesis and human HBV model relevance.
Wild duck populations were investigated over a 4 year period for duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infection and liver disease. It appeared that DHBV is endemic in wild migratory mallards from France and the U.S.A., although neither hepatocellular carcinoma nor viral DNA integration could be detected in liver samples examined. The follow up of natural infection indicated that wild mallards developed significantly higher serum titres to DHBV DNA than Pekin ducks. The results of experimental transmission demonstrated that such differences in viraemia were not related to the breed of ducks but to the virus isolate, since the wild mallard-isolated DHBV (DHBV WM) induced significantly higher viraemia in both mallard and Pekin ducklings compared to the domestic Pekin DHBV (DHBVP) isolate. The naturally infected mallard and Pekin ducks had only minor histological lesions of the liver compared with experimentally infected birds. There was no correlation between the intensity of viraemia and the severity of liver lesions, suggesting that as for mammalian hepadnaviruses the hepatic injury in DHBV-infected ducks is probably immunologically mediated.
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Lambert et al. (1991) studied Duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infection and liver disease. Wild mallard-isolated DHBV (DHBV WM) vs. Domestic Pekin DHBV (DHBVP) isolate was evaluated on Viraemia (serum titres to DHBV DNA) and liver lesions. Wild mallard-isolated DHBV induced significantly higher viraemia in both mallard and Pekin ducklings compared to the domestic Pekin DHBV isolate, with no correlation to liver lesion severity.
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