title: Hepatitis E Virus in Industrialized Countries: The Silent Threat.
abstract: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the main cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide. Its presence in developing countries has been documented for decades. Developed countries were supposed to be virus-free and initially only imported cases were detected in those areas. However, sporadic and autochthonous cases of HEV infection have been identified and studies reveal that the virus is worldwide spread. Chronic hepatitis and multiple extrahepatic manifestations have also been associated with HEV. We review the data from European countries, where human, animal, and environmental data have been collected since the 90s. In Europe, autochthonous HEV strains were first detected in the late 90s and early 2000s. Since then, serological data have shown that the virus infects quite frequently the European population and that some species, such as pigs, wild boars, and deer, are reservoirs. HEV strains can be isolated from environmental samples and reach the food chain, as shown by the detection of the virus in mussels and in contaminated pork products as sausages or meat. All these data highlight the need of studies directed to control the sources of HEV to protect immunocompromised individuals that seem the weakest link of the HEV epidemiology in industrialized regions.
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02008 Albacete, Spain; School of Pharmacy, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain.
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1056-0621
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clemente-Casares
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02008 Albacete, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlota
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5842-9729
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ramos-Romero
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02008 Albacete, Spain.
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ramirez-Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02008 Albacete, Spain; School of Pharmacy, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2563-570X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D001782:Blood Donors; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003670:Deer / Q000821:virology; D019049:Developed Countries; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D005838:Genotype; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000821:virology; D013552:Swine / Q000821:virology; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral