Abstract
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen with pigs and wild boar serving as reservoirs for human infection through direct contact with infected animals or the consumption of raw or undercooked pork products. The liver is considered the main target site of HEV replication in swine and an important organ in the pathogenesis of the disease. The aim of this study was to characterize the target liver cells for HEV entry in naturally infected wild boar and to evaluate the type and severity of the pathological changes in order to reach a better understanding of the hepatic pathogenic mechanisms involved in hepatitis E. In total, 58 livers from hunted wild boar were histopathologically evaluated. The presence of specific HEV antibodies in serum was determined by indirect ELISA. Immunohistochemistry was used for the detection of HEV antigen and Real time RT-PCR to detect HEV RNA in liver and serum. HEV seroprevalence in these animals was of 5.197% (CI95%: 1.77–14.14). By Real time RT-PCR, HEV was detected in the liver tissue of four wild boar (6.8%; CI95%: 2.7–16.4) and only one animal was also positive in serum (1.7%; CI95%: 0.3–9.1). The non-viremic animals naturally infected with HEV presented evidence of liver infection, mainly in Kupffer cells and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, without apparent associated hepatitis lesions. This study supports the hypothesis that low viral titers may persist in the liver of non-viremic individuals, giving thus the possibility of consumption of contaminated liver of animals diagnosed as HEV-negative in serum. Further immunopathogenic studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for this process and to evaluate the protocols of HEV diagnosis in animals destined for human consumption.
Highlights
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important human pathogen and the etiological agent of hepatitis E, an infection considered endemic in many countries of Africa and Asia [1, 2]
HEV was consistently detected by Real time Real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the liver tissue of 4 of the wild boar examined (6.8%; CI95%: 2.7–16.4) and only one of these was positive in serum (1.7%; CI95%: 0.3–9.1)
Prevalence rates according to animal age were 20% in juveniles, 15.3% in subadults and 2.7% in adults; no significant differences in prevalence rates were found between adults and non-adults (p = 0.3; OR = 5.48, CI95%: 0.21–140.91)
Summary
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important human pathogen and the etiological agent of hepatitis E, an infection considered endemic in many countries of Africa and Asia [1, 2]. In Spain and many other European countries, wild boar populations have notably increased [15] This large game species is widely consumed by humans and is used for the commercial production of meat or in local products that are usually consumed without cooking [9, 14, 16], thereby increasing the risk of zoonotic transmission. The ubiquity of HEV infection in wild boar raises concern about the presence of the virus in hunted animals and the current lack of official control programs of this zoonotic agent
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