Severe Acute Hepatitis Outbreaks Associated with a Novel Hepacivirus in Rhizomys pruinosus in Hainan, China.

Members of the genus Hepacivirus have a broad range of hosts, with at least 14 species identified. To date, a highly pathogenic hepacivirus causing severe disease in animals has not been found. Here, by using high-throughput sequencing, a new hepacivirus was identified as the dominant and highly pathogenic virus in severe acute hepatitis outbreaks in bamboo rats (Rhizomys pruinosus), with ≈80% mortality; this virus emerged in February 2020 in two bamboo rat farms in China. Hepaciviral genome copies in bamboo rat liver were significantly higher than in other organs. Genomic sequences of hepacivirus strains from 12 sick bamboo rats were found to share 85.3 to 100% nucleotide (nt) identity and 94.9 to 100% amino acid (aa) identity and to share 79.7 to 87.8% nt and 90.4 to 97.8% aa identities with previously reported bamboo rat hepaciviruses of Vietnam and China. Sequence analysis further revealed the simultaneous circulation of genetically divergent hepacivirus variants within the two outbreaks. Phylogenetic analysis showed that hepacivirus strains from the present and previous studies formed an independent clade comprised of at least two genotypes, clearly different from all other known species, suggesting a novel species within the genus Hepacivirus. This is the first report of a non-human-infecting hepacivirus causing potentially fatal infection of bamboo rats, and the associated hepatitis in the animals potentially can be used to develop a surrogate model for the study of hepatitis C virus infection in humans and for the development of therapeutic strategies. IMPORTANCE Members of the genus Hepacivirus have a broad host range, with at least 14 species identified, but none is highly pathogenic to its host except for hepatitis C virus, which causes severe liver diseases in humans. In this study, a new liver-tropic hepacivirus species was identified by high-throughput sequencing as the pathogen associated with two outbreaks of severely acute hepatitis in hoary bamboo rats (Rhizomys pruinosus) on two farms in Hainan Province, China; this is the first reported highly pathogenic animal hepacivirus to our knowledge. Further phylogenetic analysis suggested that the hepaciviruses derived from hoary bamboo rats in either the current or previous studies represent a novel species within the genus Hepacivirus. This finding is a breakthrough that has significantly updated our understanding about the pathogenicity of animal hepaciviruses, and the hepacivirus-associated hepatitis in bamboo rats may have a use as an animal infection model to understand HCV infection and develop therapeutic strategies.

Comparisons of outcomes of open surgery versus endovascular intervention for thrombotic popliteal artery aneurysm with acute lower limb ischemia: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Thrombotic popliteal artery aneurysm (PAA) with acute lower limb ischemia (ALI) is a serious disease leading to amputation. The choice of emergency procedures is not clearly defined, and the difference in therapeutic efficiency between open surgery and endovascular intervention is still unclear. METHOD: We conducted a comprehensive search through PubMed, Wiley Online Library and ScienceDirect. According to the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, eligible articles were screened out, and all relevant data were extracted for further analysis. Our study was designed and developed based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Guideline. We critically assessed all included articles by Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklists and the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS). RESULT: A total of 29 articles (1338 patients/1387 limbs) were included in the study. After a 1-year follow-up, the primary patency rate of the open surgery group was significantly lower than that of the endovascular intervention group (72.65 vs. 81.46%, P = 0.004), but without significant difference in the secondary patency rate (86.19 vs. 86.86%, P = 0.825). The limb salvage rate of the open surgery group was also significantly lower (83.07 vs. 98.25%, P < 0.001). After the 2-year follow-up, the primary patency rate of the open surgery group was still significantly lower (48.57 vs. 59.90%, P = 0.021). CONCLUSION: The outcome of endovascular intervention was better than that of open surgery especially in the 1-year limb salvage rate and primary patency rate at the 1-year and 2-year follow-ups.