Anti-HEV seroprevalence and rate of viremia in a German cohort of dogs, cats, and horses.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 infections in Germany are mainly transmitted zoonotically through the consumption of swine meat. Furthermore, there is evidence that pets might come into contact with HEV, but the relevance of companion animals as possible sources of HEV transmission in Germany still needs to be defined. A monitoring study was therefore carried out on dogs, cats, and horses from Germany.