Hepatitis E virus seroprevalence among farmers, veterinarians and control subjects in Jilin province, Shandong province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
China is commonly considered to be a HEV-endemic region but limited epidemiological data for HEV among farmers and veterinarians are available. Thus, a case-control study was carried out to detect the seroprevalence and assess potential risk factors associated with the acquisition of HEV infection by farmers and veterinarians in China from July 2013 to May 2015. Three hundred veterinarians and 600 farmers recruited from Jilin province, Shandong province, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and 600 control subjects matched by gender, age, and residence were detected for the presence of anti-HEV IgG and IgM antibodies using enzyme immunoassays. The seroprevalences of HEV infection in farmers, veterinarians, and control subjects were 34.8%, 26.7%, and 20.2%, respectively. Farmers (P < 0.001) and veterinarians (P = 0.027) have significantly higher seroprevalence than control subjects. The highest seroprevalence of HEV infection was detected in swine farmers (49.1%) and the lowest seroprevalence was found in cattle farmers (26.5%). In veterinarians, farm animal veterinarians have a higher seroprevalence than pet veterinarians, but the difference was not significant (P > 0.05). Residence area, contact with swine and exposure with soil were significantly associated with HEV infection in the study farmers; contact with swine and source of drinking water were significantly associated with HEV infection in the study veterinarians. These results implied the high prevalence of HEV and the considerable potential for the dissemination of HEV infection in farmers and veterinarians in China. J. Med. Virol. 89:872-877, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin Province, PR China.
Yuan-Huan
YH
Kang
College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin Province, PR China.|College of Marine Science, Shandong University at Weihai, Weihai, Shandong Province, PR China.
Wei
W
Cong
Affilliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, PR China.
Xiang-Yan
XY
Zhang
College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin Province, PR China.
Chun-Feng
CF
Wang
College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin Province, PR China.
Xiao-Feng
XF
Shan
College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin Province, PR China.
Ai-Dong
AD
Qian
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002417:Cattle; D002681:China; D000067565:Farmers; D005260:Female; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013552:Swine; D018634:Veterinarians; D055815:Young Adult
China; control subjects; farmers and veterinarians; hepatitis E virus; seroprevalence