{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T19:50:58Z","timestamp":1790884258877,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,23]],"date-time":"2025-12-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1766448000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009619","name":"Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["25fk0310544s0301"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["25fk0310544s0301"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009619","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009619","name":"Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["25fk0210143s0202"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["25fk0210143s0202"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009619","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hepatitis viruses continue to pose major global health challenges, necessitating the development of reliable and well-characterized experimental models. Tree shrews are increasingly recognized as a valuable small animal model because of their natural susceptibility to hepatitis viruses and close phylogenetic relationship with primates. Recent identification of a high prevalence of natural hepacivirus infections in tree shrews underscores the urgent need for routine viral screening of the animals used in hepatitis studies. Undetected infections may confound experimental results, undermine data integrity, and pose risks to laboratory biosecurity. Integrating systematic screening and standardized reporting practices will minimize these risks, enhance reproducibility, and safeguard the integrity of research findings. Moreover, a consistent assessment of the infection status will enhance the translational potential of tree shrews for studying viral hepatitis pathogenesis and evaluating antiviral interventions. This opinion paper emphasizes that ensuring the virological status of tree shrews is not merely a procedural recommendation but also a methodological standard essential for advancing hepatitis virus research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v18010027","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,24]],"date-time":"2025-12-24T09:58:34Z","timestamp":1766570314000},"page":"27","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Natural Hepacivirus Infection in Tree Shrews: A Call for Routine Screening in Hepatitis Virus Research"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4806-9843","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammad Enamul Hoque","family":"Kayesh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Transboundary Animal Diseases Centre, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Public Health, Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Barishal 8210, Bangladesh"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Takahiro","family":"Sanada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infection Control Unit, Research Center for Infectious Diseases Medical Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo 156-8506, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2130-5837","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michinori","family":"Kohara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo 156-8506, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4403-2018","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kyoko","family":"Tsukiyama-Kohara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transboundary Animal Diseases Centre, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11678","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-15928-7","article-title":"First identification of bovine hepacivirus in wild boars","volume":"12","author":"Cardillo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci. 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