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Antibodies reveal first evidence of hepatitis E exposure in wild warthogs

Wild female common warthog in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Research · Disease, parasites & microbiology

A study published in August 2026 has found the first serological evidence that free-ranging common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) can be exposed to hepatitis E virus (HEV). Serological evidence means that antibodies in blood show that an animal has encountered the virus previously; it does not by itself show an active infection. Researchers tested blood samples from 267 wild warthogs in Kruger and Mokala national parks in South Africa.

Hepatitis E is well known from domestic pigs and wild boar, which can act as reservoirs for forms of the virus capable of infecting people. Whether the virus also circulates among other members of the pig family in Africa has been much less clear.

Antibodies were found in 22% of sampled warthogs

The researchers tested the warthog serum for antibodies against HEV and also searched for viral RNA. Antibodies were found in 58 of the 267 animals, giving an overall seroprevalence of 22%. The proportion differed substantially between the two national parks: 32% of the sampled warthogs in Mokala were antibody-positive, compared with 13% in Kruger. Across both parks, adults and older animals were more likely to be antibody-positive than piglets and juveniles, consistent with exposure accumulating over an animal’s lifetime. Antibody prevalence was also higher in samples from later periods, but the authors caution that the opportunistic sampling and the different sampling periods in the two parks do not allow this to be treated as a reliable population trend through time.

No HEV RNA was detected

No HEV RNA was detected in any of the serum samples or in the eight faecal samples available for RNA testing. The antibody results therefore document previous exposure to the virus, while the study did not detect virus RNA in blood at the time the samples were collected. The authors note that eight faecal samples were too few to give a strong test of viral shedding. The authors describe the finding as the first serological evidence of HEV exposure in African warthogs.

The difference between Mokala and Kruger shows that exposure was not evenly distributed between the two sampled populations. The study does not establish how the animals became exposed or whether warthogs can maintain and transmit HEV as a reservoir species. Instead, the authors present the finding as a reason to investigate HEV ecology in African wild suids more closely, particularly from a One Health perspective linking wildlife, domestic animals and human health.

Sources and image credit

  1. Sallie, S., Maponga, T. G., Daly, A., Buss, P., Miller, M., & Preiser, W. (2026). Serological evidence of hepatitis E virus exposure in free-ranging warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) in South Africa. EcoHealth. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-026-01827-0Primary peer-reviewed study, published online 5 August 2026.

Image: Charles J. Sharp — wild female common warthog in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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