Detection of hepatitis E virus RNA from pig bile collected at a slaughterhouse in Japan

Masashi Uema; Kenzo Yonemitsu; Yoshimasa Sasaki; Hiroshi Asakura; Masashi Uema; Kenzo Yonemitsu; Yoshimasa Sasaki; Hiroshi Asakura

doi:10.3934/microbiol.2022036

AIMS Microbiology

2022, Volume 8, Issue 4: 566-574. doi: 10.3934/microbiol.2022036

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Brief report

Detection of hepatitis E virus RNA from pig bile collected at a slaughterhouse in Japan

1.
National Institute of Health Sciences, 3-25-26, Tonomachi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 210-9501, Japan
2.
Murayama Brunch, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 4-7-1, Gakuen, Musashimurayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan

Received: 15 September 2022 Revised: 19 December 2022 Accepted: 21 December 2022 Published: 26 December 2022

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic pathogen that circulates mainly between pigs and humans. In Japan, the number of confirmed HEV cases has increased over the past decade, with the majority reported as domestic HEV infections. HEV-infected pork products may be associated with this increase, but there is limited information on HEV in pork in Japanese markets.

From February to March 2020, gallbladders were collected from 200 slaughtered pigs shipped from 14 farms and were surveyed to detect HEV RNA in bile using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The samples were then sequenced and genotyped.

Twenty pigs were positive for HEV ribonucleic acid, and seven samples had Ct values of less than 30. Among these 20 pigs, virus strains from 14 pigs were determined as genotype 3. This report indicated that HEV-contaminated pork liver was shipped to consumer markets and demonstrated the importance of detection of HEV in meat ready for shipment.
- hepatitis E virus,
- pig, bile,
- liver,
- slaughterhouse
Citation: Masashi Uema, Kenzo Yonemitsu, Yoshimasa Sasaki, Hiroshi Asakura. Detection of hepatitis E virus RNA from pig bile collected at a slaughterhouse in Japan[J]. AIMS Microbiology, 2022, 8(4): 566-574. doi: 10.3934/microbiol.2022036

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Abstract

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic pathogen that circulates mainly between pigs and humans. In Japan, the number of confirmed HEV cases has increased over the past decade, with the majority reported as domestic HEV infections. HEV-infected pork products may be associated with this increase, but there is limited information on HEV in pork in Japanese markets.

From February to March 2020, gallbladders were collected from 200 slaughtered pigs shipped from 14 farms and were surveyed to detect HEV RNA in bile using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The samples were then sequenced and genotyped.

Twenty pigs were positive for HEV ribonucleic acid, and seven samples had Ct values of less than 30. Among these 20 pigs, virus strains from 14 pigs were determined as genotype 3. This report indicated that HEV-contaminated pork liver was shipped to consumer markets and demonstrated the importance of detection of HEV in meat ready for shipment.

Abbreviations

HEV

hepatitis E virus

RNA

ribonucleic acid

RT-qPCR

reverse transcription qualitative polymerase chain reaction

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Institute of Health Sciences and grant 22KA1001 from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. We thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author contributions

Research plannning, MU and YS; experiments, MU and KY, writing, MU, supervision, HA

References

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