Prevalence, Genetic Diversity, and Quantification of the RNA Genome of the Hepatitis E Virus in Slaughtered Pigs in Serbia.

ABSTRACT: The goal of this study conducted in Serbia was to detect HEV in pig liver samples from slaughterhouses, retail outlets, and environmental swabs over the course of a year. All positive HEV samples were measured and expressed as HEV gene copy numbers per gram of sample, and a representative number of samples were sequenced using the Sanger approach. A total of 45 HEV-positive samples were re-amplified using nested RT-PCR employing CODEHOP primers targeting ORF2 (493 nucleotides). The average prevalence of the HEV genotype 3 in all pig liver samples from the slaughterhouses was 29%, while HEV prevalence was 44% in liver samples from animals younger than 3 months. HEV RNA was found in thirteen out of sixty (22%) environmental swab samples that were taken from different surfaces along the slaug

SUBMITTER: Milojevic L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10886375 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature