Dynamic of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Shedding in Pigs
Genotype 3 of hepatitis E virus (HEV-3) is the most common in Europe in both humans and pigs. HEV-3 strains are zoonotic, and foodborne cases associated with consumption of raw and undercooked pork products, mainly liver sausages, have been described. HEV-3 circulates largely in European pig farms,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/9/1063 |
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| author | Giovanni Ianiro Marina Monini Luca De Sabato Eleonora Chelli Natalino Cerini Fabio Ostanello Ilaria Di Bartolo |
| author_facet | Giovanni Ianiro Marina Monini Luca De Sabato Eleonora Chelli Natalino Cerini Fabio Ostanello Ilaria Di Bartolo |
| author_sort | Giovanni Ianiro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Genotype 3 of hepatitis E virus (HEV-3) is the most common in Europe in both humans and pigs. HEV-3 strains are zoonotic, and foodborne cases associated with consumption of raw and undercooked pork products, mainly liver sausages, have been described. HEV-3 circulates largely in European pig farms, maybe due to its long persistence in the environment. Animals get infected around 3–4 months of age; shortly after, the infection starts to decline up to the age of slaughtering (8–9 months of age in Italy). With the purpose to understand the duration in farmed pigs of the shedding of the virus and its quantity, HEV-RNA detection was performed by Real-time RT-PCR from feces collected individually from two groups of 23 pigs. Sampling was conducted for 4 months shortly before slaughtering age. At 4-months-old, all animals were shedding HEV-3 to high load around 10<sup>5</sup> genome copies per gram (GC/g). Prevalence was higher in growers than in fatteners, with most of the pigs still positive around 166 days of age. Beyond some difference among individual pigs, the amount of HEV in feces decreased with the age of animals. The longest fattening period should ensure a lower risk of HEV shedder animals at slaughter, reducing the risk of food contamination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:24:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23ca774d60d24614921dc786e474a0c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:24:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-23ca774d60d24614921dc786e474a0c02023-11-23T07:41:53ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-04-01129106310.3390/ani12091063Dynamic of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Shedding in PigsGiovanni Ianiro0Marina Monini1Luca De Sabato2Eleonora Chelli3Natalino Cerini4Fabio Ostanello5Ilaria Di Bartolo6Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, ItalyPublic Veterinary Service, Local Health Unit Roma 6, Via San Biagio, 19, 00049 Velletri, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra, 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, ItalyDepartment of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, ItalyGenotype 3 of hepatitis E virus (HEV-3) is the most common in Europe in both humans and pigs. HEV-3 strains are zoonotic, and foodborne cases associated with consumption of raw and undercooked pork products, mainly liver sausages, have been described. HEV-3 circulates largely in European pig farms, maybe due to its long persistence in the environment. Animals get infected around 3–4 months of age; shortly after, the infection starts to decline up to the age of slaughtering (8–9 months of age in Italy). With the purpose to understand the duration in farmed pigs of the shedding of the virus and its quantity, HEV-RNA detection was performed by Real-time RT-PCR from feces collected individually from two groups of 23 pigs. Sampling was conducted for 4 months shortly before slaughtering age. At 4-months-old, all animals were shedding HEV-3 to high load around 10<sup>5</sup> genome copies per gram (GC/g). Prevalence was higher in growers than in fatteners, with most of the pigs still positive around 166 days of age. Beyond some difference among individual pigs, the amount of HEV in feces decreased with the age of animals. The longest fattening period should ensure a lower risk of HEV shedder animals at slaughter, reducing the risk of food contamination.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/9/1063HEVswinepigsfattenersfoodbornerisk |
| spellingShingle | Giovanni Ianiro Marina Monini Luca De Sabato Eleonora Chelli Natalino Cerini Fabio Ostanello Ilaria Di Bartolo Dynamic of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Shedding in Pigs Animals HEV swine pigs fatteners foodborne risk |
| title | Dynamic of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Shedding in Pigs |
| title_full | Dynamic of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Shedding in Pigs |
| title_fullStr | Dynamic of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Shedding in Pigs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamic of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Shedding in Pigs |
| title_short | Dynamic of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Shedding in Pigs |
| title_sort | dynamic of hepatitis e virus hev shedding in pigs |
| topic | HEV swine pigs fatteners foodborne risk |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/9/1063 |
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