Hepatitis E Virus in Pork Food Chain, United Kingdom, 2009–2010

Berto, Alessandra; Martelli, Francesca; Grierson, Sylvia S.; Banks, M.

doi:10.3201/eid1808.111647

Cited by 147 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Although not statistically significant, the observed decrease in seropositive swine from 1994 to 2009/2010 may have caused a lowered human infectious pressure also in Norway. As HEV can be transmitted through contaminated raw or undercooked swine products [17,18], application of basic hygienic measures in the kitchen, and ensuring sufficient heating of meat products can help prevent the chain of swine to human transmission in the overall population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hepatitis E in Norway: seroprevalence in humans and swine

et al. 2016

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SUMMARYIn Norway, no published data on seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in humans and swine exists. Serum samples from blood donors, veterinarians, swine farm workers and swine were analysed by ELISA to estimate the seroprevalence of HEV in Norway and to investigate the association between direct contact with swine and HEV seroprevalence in humans. The seroprevalence of HEV IgG antibodies was 30% (24/79) in farm workers, 13% (21/163) in veterinarians, 14% (162/1200) in blood donors and 90% (137/153) in swine. Our results show a high seroprevalence of HEV in humans and swine in Norway. HEV seroprevalence in farm workers and blood donors increased with age, and veterinarians working with swine were twice as likely to be HEV seropositive compared to other veterinarians. High HEV seroprevalence in farm workers and veterinarians working with swine support previous reports suggesting swine as a reservoir for HEV infections in humans in Europe.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hepatitis E in Norway: seroprevalence in humans and swine

et al. 2016

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“…However, since foodborne transmission of HEV had already been reported [2,8,9], as well as the presence of HEV in pork products from markets in many countries [10][11][12], including Serbia, where HEV has been recently detected in livers (16%) and meat (10%) of two-to three-month-old piglets on the line of slaughterhouse (unpublished data), the obtained high HEV seroprevalence among Serbian blood donors as representatives of the general population may be connected to the traditional food consumption custom of often eating piglet meat in Serbia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This fact, together with the description of cases of acute hepatitis in people who ate uncooked deer meat or liver from pork or wild boar and the recent detection of HEV RNA and infectious virus in commercial pig livers and pork products sold in local grocery stores has raised the hypothesis of a zoonotic potential for HEV [3,[8][9][10][11][12]. Several studies have suggested that pig handlers, veterinarians, and other workers with occupational exposure to swine present a higher HEV IgG seropositivity, although other studies did not find such an association [2,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies in Serbian blood donors

Lupulović

Oya

Vojvodic³

et al. 2014

J Infect Dev Ctries

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Introduction: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is rarely reported in industrialized countries, but recent studies have revealed quite variable seroprevalence rates among European populations, including blood donors. In Serbia, very limited data about HEV seroprevalence are available. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anti-HEV IgG antibodies and HEV RNA in the sera of volunteer blood donors in Serbia. Methodology: Serum samples from 200 volunteer blood donors were tested for the presence of anti-HEV IgG by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using ORF-2 HEV genotype 3 recombinant proteins as antigen, and for the presence of HEV RNA by nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: In total, 15% of the volunteer blood donors were seropositive. The prevalence increased with age; 21.5%, 14.2%, and 5.4% HEV seroprevalence rates were found in individuals older than 51 years, between 31 and 50 years, and in those younger than 30 years of age, respectively. However, no HEV RNA was detected in any of the individuals analyzed. Conclusions: The prevalence of anti-HEV IgG among blood donors as representatives of the general population is quite high in Serbia compared to data from many European countries. One of the reasons for this could be the high prevalence of HEV among Serbian pigs and the traditional consumption of piglet meat in the country. The relatively high HEV seroprevalence found among Serbian blood donors indicates the need for further investigation.

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“…It causes large propagated epidemics of acute hepatitis in Asia and Africa, as well as low-level, sporadic, food-associated infections in the developed world (2,3). Its pathogenicity ranges from acute liver failure and mortality rates as high as 20% in some subpopulations (for example, in pregnant women) to apparently asymptomatic infections in others (4).…”

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confidence: 99%

Genotype-Specific Evolution of Hepatitis E Virus

Brayne

Dearlove

Lester

et al. 2017

J Virol

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Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common cause of acute viral hepatitis globally. HEV comprises four genotypes with different geographic distributions and host ranges. We utilize this natural case-control study for investigating the evolution of zoonotic viruses compared to single-host viruses, using 244 near-full-length HEV genomes. Genome-wide estimates of the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous evolutionary changes (dN/dS ratio) located a region of overlapping reading frames, which is subject to positive selection in genotypes 3 and 4. The open reading frames (ORFs) involved have functions related to host-pathogen interaction, so genotype-specific evolution of these regions may reflect their fitness. Bayesian inference of evolutionary rates shows that genotypes 3 and 4 have significantly higher rates than genotype 1 across all ORFs. Reconstruction of the phylogenies of zoonotic genotypes demonstrates significant intermingling of isolates between hosts. We speculate that the genotype-specific differences may result from cyclical adaptation to different hosts in genotypes 3 and 4.IMPORTANCE Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is increasingly recognized as a pathogen that affects both the developing and the developed world. While most often clinically mild, HEV can be severe or fatal in certain demographics, such as expectant mothers. Like many other viral pathogens, HEV has been classified into several distinct genotypes. We show that most of the HEV genome is evolutionarily constrained. One locus of positive selection is unusual in that it encodes two distinct protein products. We are the first to detect positive selection in this overlap region. Genotype 1, which infects humans only, appears to be evolving differently from genotypes 3 and 4, which infect multiple species, possibly because genotypes 3 and 4 are unable to achieve the same fitness due to repeated host jumps. KEYWORDS evolution, evolutionary biology, genotypic identification, hepatitis E virus, positive selection H epatitis E virus (HEV) is a nonenveloped single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus that infects approximately 20 million people globally each year (1). It causes large propagated epidemics of acute hepatitis in Asia and Africa, as well as low-level, sporadic, food-associated infections in the developed world (2, 3). Its pathogenicity ranges from acute liver failure and mortality rates as high as 20% in some subpopulations (for example, in pregnant women) to apparently asymptomatic infections in others (4). Acquired via the fecal-oral route, HEV is associated with poor hygiene and living conditions. It can also be acquired by eating contaminated food, including infected artiodactyls (swine, deer, and boar) and shellfish (4-6).Mammalian HEV exists in four internationally recognized genotypes (7). Genotyping is based on nucleotide divergence in the capsid open reading frame (ORF) (8) and on whole-genome phylogenetic analysis (9). Genotypes differ at the epidemiological (distribution, hosts) and virological (pathogenicity, translation mecha...

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Hepatitis E Virus in Pork Food Chain, United Kingdom, 2009–2010

Cited by 147 publications

References 14 publications

Hepatitis E in Norway: seroprevalence in humans and swine

Hepatitis E in Norway: seroprevalence in humans and swine

Prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies in Serbian blood donors

Genotype-Specific Evolution of Hepatitis E Virus

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