Figure 1
The pattern of faecal HEV RNA excretion in time. The pattern is represented by the threshold cycle (Ct) of the real-time RT-PCR per block (B1: Block 1, B2: Block 2) for contact-infected and iv inoculated pigs. The Ct values were used as relative marker for the amount of HEV in samples, under the assumption that efficiencies of the assay for all faecal samples are comparable. The first HEV-positive faecal sample is taken as starting point of the pattern (i.e. sampling 1) and three samplings represent 7 days. Ct values were averaged for contact-infected or iv inoculated pigs per sampling. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean; absence of error bars means that only one value was available for that sampling. Note that a lower Ct usually indicates a higher HEV-concentration and Ct >40 were set at 45, because 45 cycles were completed in the RT-PCR assay.