Prevalence of hepatitis E virus antibodies in workers occupationally exposed to swine in Portugal.

The concept of zoonotic hepatitis E in industrialized countries has emerged with the discovery of swine strains of hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3, closely related to human HEV. Different routes of zoonotic HEV transmission have been recognized, including contact with infected pigs. Workers occupationally exposed to swine (WOES) have been considered a risk group for HEV infection, but contradictory results have been reported. In the present study, we searched for anti-HEV IgG in WOES (butchers, slaughterhouse workers, veterinarians and pig farmers; n = 114) and in the general population (n = 804) in order to investigate the potential occupational risk of zoonotic HEV infection in this work group. A significantly higher (p = 0.008) anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence was found in WOES (30.7 %) when compared with the general population (19.9 %). Multivariate analysis showed that having professions with exposure to pigs for more than 16.5 years was a risk factor for being positive for anti-HEV IgG (aOR of 5.4, 95 % CI 1.9-15.6, p = 0.002). To our knowledge, this is the first study on the prevalence of anti-HEV IgG in WOES in Portugal, also showing increased probability for infection in this group.

Evidence of autochthonous hepatitis E in a Portuguese pediatric cohort, 1992-1995.

Despite the growing importance of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in industrialized countries, minimal attention has been given to autochthonous HEV infection in children. The present study screened archived sera (N = 71) from a Portuguese pediatric cohort collected in 1992-1995 for the presence of antibodies against HEV, using enzyme immunoassays and immunodot. Anti-HEV IgG was detected in two children and anti-HEV IgM in one, suggesting an acute HEV infection. This shows that HEV was circulating in the paediatric population of Portugal in the early 1990s.