Abstract
Zoonotic hepatitis E, mainly caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype (gt) 3, is a foodborne disease that has emerged in Europe in recent decades. The main animal reservoir for genotype 3 is domestic pigs. Pig liver and liver derivates are considered the major risk products, and studies focused on the presence of HEV in pig muscles are scarce. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the presence of HEV in different organs and tissues of 45 apparently healthy pigs from nine Spanish slaughterhouses (50% national production) that could enter into the food supply chain. Anti-HEV antibodies were evaluated in serum by an ELISA test. Ten samples from each animal were analyzed for the presence of HEV RNA by reverse transcription real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). The overall seroprevalence obtained was 73.3% (33/45). From the 450 samples analyzed, a total of 26 RT-qPCR positive samples were identified in the liver (7/45), feces (6/45), kidney (5/45), heart (4/45), serum (3/45), and diaphragm (1/45). This is the first report on detection of HEV RNA in kidney and heart samples of naturally infected pigs. HEV RNA detection was negative for rib, bacon, lean ham, and loin samples. These findings indicate that pig meat could be considered as a low risk material for foodborne HEV infection.
Highlights
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a small non-enveloped positive sense single-stranded RNA virus classified in Hepeviridae family (Emerson and Purcell, 2003) and is the main cause of viral acute hepatitis in humans worldwide (European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 2017)
Thirty-three of the 45 pigs of the study showed IgG antibodies against HEV, which represents an overall seroprevalence of 73.3%
The overall seroprevalence obtained by an ELISA test, 73.3% (33/45), was not unexpected because a high anti-HEV antibody prevalence has been observed in an apparently healthy swine population since the 1980s in Spain (Casas et al, 2009b, 2011; Jimenez de Oya et al, 2011)
Summary
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a small non-enveloped positive sense single-stranded RNA virus classified in Hepeviridae family (Emerson and Purcell, 2003) and is the main cause of viral acute hepatitis in humans worldwide (EFSA, 2017). Hepatitis E Virus in Spanish Slaughterhouses basically related to animals, and hepatitis E is currently considered an emerging zoonotic disease (EFSA, 2017). In Spain, anti-IgG-VHE prevalence ranges from 0.6 to 10% in the general population (Echevarria et al, 2015), whereas it could reach up to 19% in persons exposed to pigs (Galiana et al, 2008). Pigs are an important zoonotic source of HEV. The swine population is considered endemic for HEV-genotype 3 (gt3) in many European countries (Pavio et al, 2010). As pork products (including meat) are highly prevalent in European food markets, it is necessary to evaluate the potential risks they represent relatively to HEV infection of humans
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