Institute for Work and Health (IST), University of Lausanne and University of Geneva, Rue de la Corniche 2, 1066 Epalinges, Switzerland.
Water Res. 2013 Sep 15;47(14):5101-9. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2013.05.050. Epub 2013 Jun 4.
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is responsible for many enterically transmitted viral hepatitides around the world. It is currently one of the waterborne diseases of global concern. In industrialized countries, HEV appears to be more common than previously thought, even if it is rarely virulent. In Switzerland, seroprevalence studies revealed that HEV is endemic, but no information was available on its environmental spread. The aim of this study was to investigate -using qPCR- the occurrence and concentration of HEV and three other viruses (norovirus genogroup II, human adenovirus-40 and porcine adenovirus) in influents and effluents of 31 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Switzerland. Low concentrations of HEV were detected in 40 out of 124 WWTP influent samples, showing that HEV is commonly present in this region. The frequency of HEV occurrence was higher in summer than in winter. No HEV was detected in WWTP effluent samples, which indicates a low risk of environmental contamination. HEV occurrence and concentrations were lower than those of norovirus and adenovirus. The autochthonous HEV genotype 3 was found in all positive samples, but a strain of the non-endemic and highly pathogenic HEV genotype I was isolated in one sample, highlighting the possibility of environmental circulation of this genotype. A porcine fecal marker (porcine adenovirus) was not detected in HEV positive samples, indicating that swine are not the direct source of HEV present in wastewater. Further investigations will be necessary to determine the reservoirs and the routes of dissemination of HEV.
戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）是引起全世界许多肠道传播病毒性肝炎的罪魁祸首。它目前是全球关注的水源性疾病之一。在工业化国家，HEV 的发病率似乎比以前认为的要高，即使它很少具有毒性。在瑞士，血清流行率研究表明 HEV 是地方性的，但关于其环境传播的信息尚不清楚。本研究旨在使用 qPCR 调查瑞士 31 家污水处理厂（WWTP）的进水和出水样本中 HEV 和其他三种病毒（诺如病毒基因群 II、人腺病毒-40 和猪腺病毒）的发生和浓度。在 124 个 WWTP 进水样本中，有 40 个样本检测到低浓度的 HEV，表明该地区普遍存在 HEV。HEV 的检出频率夏季高于冬季。WWTP 出水样本中未检出 HEV，表明环境污染风险较低。HEV 的检出率和浓度均低于诺如病毒和腺病毒。所有阳性样本均检出了本土 HEV 基因型 3，但在一个样本中分离出了一种非地方性和高致病性的 HEV 基因型 1 毒株，这突出了该基因型在环境中循环的可能性。HEV 阳性样本中未检出猪粪便标志物（猪腺病毒），表明猪不是废水中存在的 HEV 的直接来源。需要进一步调查以确定 HEV 的储存库和传播途径。
