Would you like to collaborate in an international laboratory network of hepatitis E virus (HEV) experts performing supranational studies and are you able to share HEV sequences in a shared repository? Help us strengthen the HEVnet database into a One Health platform and join HEVnet now!

What is HEVnet?

HEVnet is a network and database for sharing sequences and accompanying metadata collected from Hepatitis E virus from human, animal, food and environmental sources. An article announcing this data-sharing network has been published by Eurosurveillance, entitled: “HEVnet: a One Health, collaborative, interdisciplinary network and sequence data repository for enhanced hepatitis E virus molecular typing, characterisation and epidemiological investigations”. HEVnet is coordinated and maintained by RIVM and the setup of HEVnet was supported by the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control).

About Hepatitis E virus (HEV)

HEV is a common cause of acute hepatitis worldwide. In Europe, HEV is a zoonosis transmitted via contaminated pork meat or other pork food products. Genotype 3 is the most prevalent hepatitis E virus type in the animal reservoir, as well as in humans. Despite an increased incidence of hepatitis E across Europe, much remains unknown about its spread, sources and transmission routes. A One Health approach is crucial for a better understanding of the (molecular) epidemiology of HEV. 

Current and future uses of HEVnet

More than 41 experts from 30 institutes in 15 countries (i.e. 14 European countries, plus the United States of America) have joined the network. Between April 2017 and January 2019, 1615 HEV sequences have been submitted from nine countries, of human origin (89%), but also of animal (5%), food (6%), or environmental origin (0.3%).

Why join HEVnet

HEVnet aims to expand into a global network capable of performing cross-sectoral and supranational studies, with a shared repository of molecular and epidemiological data on HEV. To strengthen the HEVnet database into a One Health platform, it is necessary that HEV experts in the veterinary, food and environmental sectors join the network and add their sequences.

HEV experts are invited to join HEVnet by sending an email request to hevnet@rivm.nl  with a short explanation of what they can contribute to the network and the establishment of a global reference set of HEV sequences.