scholarly journals High prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus antibodies among blood donors in central Italy, February to March 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (30) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Lucarelli ◽  
Enea Spada ◽  
Gloria Taliani ◽  
Paola Chionne ◽  
Elisabetta Madonna ◽  
...  

Prevalence of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) antibodies is highly variable in developed countries, which seems partly due to differences in assay sensitivity. Using validated sensitive assays, we tested 313 blood donors attending a hospital transfusion unit in central Italy in January and February 2014 for anti-HEV IgG and IgM and HEV RNA. Data on HEV exposure were collected from all donors. Overall anti-HEV IgG prevalence was 49% (153/313). Eating raw dried pig-liver sausage was the only independent predictor of HEV infection (adjusted prevalence rate ratio = 2.14; 95% confidence interval: 1.23–3.74). Three donors were positive for either anti-HEV IgM (n = 2; 0.6%) or HEV RNA (n = 2; 0.6%); they were completely asymptomatic, without alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities. Of the two HEV RNA-positive donors (both harbouring genotype 3), one was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-positive, the other was anti-HEV IgG- and IgM-negative. The third donor was positive for anti-HEV IgG and IgM but HEV RNA-negative. HEV infection is therefore hyperendemic among blood donors (80% men 18–64 years-old) from central Italy and associated with local dietary habits. Nearly 1% of donors have acute or recent infection, implying potential transmission to blood recipients. Neither ALT nor anti-HEV IgM testing seems useful to prevent transfusion-transmitted HEV infection.

2004 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 554-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoko Fukuda ◽  
Junko Sunaga ◽  
Nobuo Saito ◽  
Kuniko Fujimura ◽  
Yaeko Itoh ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Nasheri ◽  
Tanushka Doctor ◽  
Angela Chen ◽  
Jennifer Harlow ◽  
Alexander Gill

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes acute hepatitis with approximately 20 million cases per year globally. While HEV is endemic in certain regions of Asia, Africa and South America, it is considered an emerging foodborne pathogen in developed countries. Based on genetic diversity, HEV is classified into different genotypes, with genotype 3 (HEV-3) being most prevalent in Europe and North America. The transmission of HEV-3 has been shown to be zoonotic and mainly associated with the consumption of raw or undercooked pork products. Herein, we investigated the efficacy of high-pressure processing (HPP) in the inactivation of HEV-3 using a cell culture system. HPP has been indicated as a promising nonthermal pathogen inactivation strategy for treatment of certain high-risk food commodities, without any noticeable changes in their nature. For this purpose, we treated HEV-3 in media as well as in artificially inoculated pork pâté, with different conditions of HPP: 400 MPa for 1 and 5 minutes, as well as 600 MPa for 1 and 5 minutes, at ambient temperature. In general, we observed approximately a 2-log reduction in HEV load by HPP treatments in media; however, similar treatment in the pork pâté resulted in a much lower reduction in viral load. Therefore, the efficacy of HPP treatment in the inactivation of HEV-3 is matrix-dependent.


Author(s):  
Cinzia Marcantonio ◽  
Patrizio Pezzotti ◽  
Roberto Bruni ◽  
Gloria Taliani ◽  
Paola Chionne ◽  
...  

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1265
Author(s):  
Boris M. Hogema ◽  
Renate W. Hakze-van der Hakze-van der Honing ◽  
Michel Molier ◽  
Hans L. Zaaijer ◽  
Wim H. M. van der van der Poel

Pigs are suspected to be a major source of zoonotic hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in industrialized countries, but the transmission route(s) from pigs to humans are ill-defined. Sequence comparison of HEV isolates from pigs with those from blood donors and patients in 372 samples collected in the Netherlands in 1998 and 1999 and between 2008 and 2015 showed that all sequences were genotype 3 except for six patients (with travel history). Subgenotype 3c (gt3c) was the most common subtype. While the proportion of gt3c increased significantly between 1998 and 2008, it remained constant between 2008 and 2015. Among the few circulating HEV subtypes, there was no difference observed between the human and the pig isolates. Hepatitis E viruses in humans are very likely to originate from pigs, but it is unclear why HEV gt3c has become the predominant subtype in the Netherlands.


Author(s):  
André Luiz Bortoliero ◽  
Ana Maria Bonametti ◽  
Helena Kaminami Morimoto ◽  
Tiemi Matsuo ◽  
Edna Maria Vissoci Reiche

A cross-sectional study was carried out among 996 volunteer blood donors enrolled from May 1999 to December 1999 to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection among volunteer blood donors of the Regional Blood Bank of Londrina, State of Paraná, Brazil, and to evaluate whether the rate of seroprevalence of IgG anti-HEV antibodies is associated with sociodemographic variables and with seropositivity for hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection. All participants answered the questionnaire regarding the sociodemographic characterisitcs. Serum samples were tested for IgG antibodies to HEV (anti-HEV) by an enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA). All serum samples positive for anti-HEV IgG and 237 serum samples negative for anti-HEV were also assayed for IgG anti-HAV antibodies by ELISA. Anti-HEV IgG was confirmed in 23/996 samples, resulting in a seroprevalence of 2.3% for HEV infection, similar to previous results obtained in developed countries. No significant association was found between the presence of anti-HEV IgG antibodies and the sociodemographic variables including gender, age, educational level, rural or urban areas, source of water, and sewer system (p > 0.05). Also, no association with seropositivity for anti-HAV IgG antibodies was observed (p > 0.05). Although this study revealed a low seroprevalence of HEV infection in the population evaluated, the results showed that this virus is circulating among the population from Londrina, South Brazil, and point out the need of further studies to define the clinical and epidemiological importance of HEV infection and to identify additional risk factors involved in the epidemiology and pathogenesis of this infection in this population.


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (31) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Slot ◽  
B M Hogema ◽  
A Riezebos-Brilman ◽  
T M Kok ◽  
M Molier ◽  
...  

In Europe, the dynamics of endemic hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection remain enigmatic. We studied the presence of silent HEV infection among Dutch blood donors. Using donations collected throughout the Netherlands in 2011 and 2012, 40,176 donations were tested for HEV RNA in 459 pools of 48 or 480 donations. Deconstruction of the reactive pools identified 13 viraemic donors. In addition, 5,239 donors were tested for presence of anti-HEV IgG and IgM and for HEV RNA when IgM-positive. Of the 5,239 donations, 1,401 (27%) tested repeat-positive for HEV IgG, of which 49 (3.5%) also tested positive for anti-HEV IgM. Four of the HEV IgM-positive donors tested positive for HEV RNA. HEV IgG seroprevalence ranged from 13% among donors younger than 30 years to 43% in donors older than 60 years. The finding of 17 HEV RNA-positive donations among 45,415 donations corresponds to one HEV-positive blood donation per day in the Netherlands. For 16 of the 17 HEV RNA-positive donors, genotyping succeeded, revealing HEV genotype 3, which is circulating among Dutch pigs. Apparently, silent HEV infection is common in the Netherlands, which possibly applies to larger parts of Europe.


Author(s):  
Ilaria Pierini ◽  
Ilaria Di Bartolo ◽  
Elisabetta Manuali ◽  
Silvia Pirani ◽  
Moira Bazzucchi ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 114-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cláudio Moss da Silva ◽  
Jaqueline Mendes Oliveira ◽  
Raúl Andrés Mendoza-Sassi ◽  
Andreza Soriano Figueiredo ◽  
Luísa Dias da Mota ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1322-1327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamaš Petrović ◽  
Diana Lupulović ◽  
Nereida Jiménez de Oya ◽  
Svetlana Vojvodić ◽  
Ana-Belén Blázquez ◽  
...  

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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