Study of Animal Mixing and the Dynamics of Hepatitis E Virus Infection on a Farrow-to-Finish Pig Farm.

ABSTRACT: In Europe, swine are a livestock reservoir for Hepatitis E virus genotype 3 (HEV-3). Consumption of food containing HEV-3 can cause zoonotic human infection, though risk is reduced by heat treatment. Implementing controls that limit infection in slaughter pigs may further reduce foodborne transmission risk but knowledge of infection dynamics on commercial farms is limited. This study addressed this knowledge gap and in particular investigated the influence of group mixing. Faeces were collected from grower (n = 212) and fattener (n = 262) pigs on a farrow-to-finish farm on four occasions. HEV RNA was detected on all occasions, and prevalence was higher in growers (85.8%) than fatteners (26.0%; p < 0.001). HEV-positive samples were also collected from the wider farm env

SUBMITTER: Withenshaw SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8833537 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature