RESUMO
In 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.
Assuntos
Hepatite E/epidemiologia , Hepatite E/veterinária , Doenças dos Suínos/epidemiologia , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Animais , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Feminino , Anticorpos Anti-Hepatite/sangue , Humanos , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Noruega/epidemiologia , Exposição Ocupacional , Estudos Soroepidemiológicos , Inquéritos e Questionários , Suínos , Adulto JovemRESUMO
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.
