Woodchuck hepatitis virus
Species of virus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) is a species of the genus Orthohepadnavirus. It was first discovered in 1977 in a captive population of Marmota monax, but has since been discovered in wild populations in the Eastern United States.[1]
| Woodchuck hepatitis virus | |
|---|---|
Virus classification  | |
| (unranked): | Virus |
| Realm: | Riboviria |
| Kingdom: | Pararnavirae |
| Phylum: | Artverviricota |
| Class: | Revtraviricetes |
| Order: | Blubervirales |
| Family: | Hepadnaviridae |
| Genus: | Orthohepadnavirus |
| Species: | Orthohepadnavirus marmotae |
Woodchucks with an chronic infection of WHV inevitably develop hepatocellular carcinoma; this has led to the use of WHV in woodchucks as a model for human Hepatitis B virus infections.[2]
