title: Hepatitis E Virus in Domestic Pigs, Wild Boars, Pig Farm Workers, and Hunters in Estonia.
abstract: While hepatitis E is a growing health concern in Europe, epidemiological data on hepatitis E virus (HEV) in Estonia are scarce. Along with imported HEV infections, autochthonous cases are reported from European countries. Both domestic and wild animals can be a source of human cases of this zoonosis. Here, we investigated the presence of anti-HEV antibodies and HEV RNA in domestic pigs and wild boars, as well as in pig farm workers and hunters in Estonia. Anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 234/380 (61.6%) of sera from domestic pigs and in all investigated herds, and in 81/471 (17.2%) of meat juice samples from wild boars. HEV RNA was detected by real-time PCR in 103/449 (22.9%) of fecal samples from younger domestic pigs and 13/81 (16.0%) of anti-HEV-positive wild boar samples. Analysis of sera from 67 pig farm workers and 144 hunters revealed the presence of HEV-specific IgG in 13.4 and 4.2% of the samples, respectively. No HEV RNA was detected in the human serum samples. Phylogenetic analyses of HEV sequences from domestic pigs and wild boars, based on a 245 bp fragment from the open reading frame 2 showed that all of them belonged to genotype 3. The present study demonstrates the presence of HEV in Estonian domestic pig and wild boar populations, as well as in humans who have direct regular contact with these animals. Our results suggest that HEV infections are present in Estonia and require attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia. anna.ivanova@tai.ee.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ivanova
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tefanova
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Reshetnjak
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuznetsova
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geller
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Zoonosis Science Center (ZSC), Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Åke
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Lundkvist
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences and Population Medicine, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Marilin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janson
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences and Population Medicine, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Kädi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Neare
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences and Population Medicine, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Kaisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Velström
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences and Population Medicine, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.|Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Pikka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jokelainen
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences and Population Medicine, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lassen
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Pirje
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hütt
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences and Population Medicine, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Tiiu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saar
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences and Population Medicine, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Arvo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viltrop
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.|Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Zoonosis Science Center (ZSC), Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Golovljova
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring / Q000662:veterinary; D004957:Estonia; D000067565:Farmers; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005506:Food Contamination; D005513:Food Inspection; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D008460:Meat / Q000821:virology*; D058889:Molecular Typing / Q000662:veterinary; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D000078329:Workforce
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Hepatitis E virus; RNA; Seroprevalence; Zoonosis