title: Factors Affecting Detection of Hepatitis E Virus on Canadian Retail Pork Chops and Pork Livers Assayed Using Real-Time RT-PCR.
abstract: We collected 599 Canadian retail pork chops and 283 pork livers routinely (usually weekly) from April 2011 to March 2012 using the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) retail sampling platform. Samples were assayed using validated real-time (q) reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and nested classical RT-PCR for the detection of hepatitis E virus (HEV), porcine enteric calicivirus (PEC) and rotavirus (RV). The presence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. was measured on a subset of our samples. Exact logistic regression models were fitted for predictors for HEV detection, for each assay. For both assays, sample type (pork chop versus liver) was a significant predictor for HEV RNA detection. For nested classical RT-PCR but not qRT-PCR, region of sample collection was a significant predictor (P = 0.008) of HEV detection. Odds of HEV detection were greatest in spring relative to other seasons. E. coli was a significant predictor for HEV RNA detection using the qRT-PCR (P = 0.03). Overall, the prevalence of E. coli, Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. was significantly greater than HEV, PEC or RV on our retail pork samples. Our sparse data set for the detection of PEC and RV precluded modelling of risk factors for the detection of these viruses.
authors.affiliation: Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Food Research and Development Centre, St-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leblanc
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Avery
authors.affiliation: Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Pearl
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Food Research and Development Centre, St-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Houde
authors.affiliation: Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.|Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division, Food and Agriculture Organization, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rajić
authors.affiliation: Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: McEwen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002167:Campylobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003132:Commerce; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005516:Food Microbiology; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000821:virology; D016015:Logistic Models; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D000069466:Red Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012621:Seasons; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Hepatitis E virus; foodborne viruses; mathematical modelling; virology