title: Prevalence of hepatitis E virus antibodies in workers occupationally exposed to swine in Portugal.
abstract: The concept of zoonotic hepatitis E in industrialized countries has emerged with the discovery of swine strains of hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3, closely related to human HEV. Different routes of zoonotic HEV transmission have been recognized, including contact with infected pigs. Workers occupationally exposed to swine (WOES) have been considered a risk group for HEV infection, but contradictory results have been reported. In the present study, we searched for anti-HEV IgG in WOES (butchers, slaughterhouse workers, veterinarians and pig farmers; n = 114) and in the general population (n = 804) in order to investigate the potential occupational risk of zoonotic HEV infection in this work group. A significantly higher (p = 0.008) anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence was found in WOES (30.7 %) when compared with the general population (19.9 %). Multivariate analysis showed that having professions with exposure to pigs for more than 16.5 years was a risk factor for being positive for anti-HEV IgG (aOR of 5.4, 95 % CI 1.9-15.6, p = 0.002). To our knowledge, this is the first study on the prevalence of anti-HEV IgG in WOES in Portugal, also showing increased probability for infection in this group.
authors: Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (FFUP), Porto, Portugal.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Teixeira
authors: Agrarian Superior School (ESAV), Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal. jmesquita@esav.ipv.pt.|Centre for Studies in Education, Technologies and Health (CI&DETS), Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal. jmesquita@esav.ipv.pt.|Escola Superior Agrária de Viseu, Quinta da Alagoa, Estrada de Nelas, Ranhados, 3500-606, Viseu, Portugal. jmesquita@esav.ipv.pt.
authors: J R
authors: JR
authors: Mesquita
authors: Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (FFUP), Porto, Portugal.
authors: S S
authors: SS
authors: Pereira
authors: Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (FFUP), Porto, Portugal.
authors: R M S
authors: RM
authors: Oliveira
authors: Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (FFUP), Porto, Portugal.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Abreu-Silva
authors: Health Superior School (ESSL), Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Rodrigues
authors: Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Myrmel
authors: Department of Virology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Stene-Johansen
authors: Department of Virology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Øverbø
authors: Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine (UMIB), Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Gonçalves
authors: Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto (FFUP), Porto, Portugal.
authors: M S J
authors: MS
authors: Nascimento
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011174:Portugal; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013552:Swine; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G
keywords: Genotype 3; HEV; Occupational exposure; Portugal; Swine