Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Matosinhos, Portugal.
Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Universidade Do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Epidemiology Research Unit (EPIUnit), Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade Do Porto, Portugal.
Food Microbiol. 2020 Aug;89:103415. doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2020.103415. Epub 2020 Jan 10.
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) deriving from manure application runoffs and faecal waste spill over of swine and human origin bypass wastewater treatment plants and contaminate coastal waters. Shellfish bioaccumulate enteric viruses such as HEV from fecally contaminated coastal waters and under current European Regulations, shellfish sanitary status surveillance is mandatory but only by means of bacterial faecal indicators. The sea urchins are under the same regulations and their vulnerability to fecal contamination has been pointed out. Since they are consumed raw and with no steps to control/reduce hazards, sea urchin contamination with enteric viruses can represent a food safety risk. Hence, the aim of the present study was to screen sea urchin gonads destined for human consumption for the presence of HEV. HEV was detected and quantified in gonads of sea urchins collected in north Portugal by a reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assay targeting the ORF3 region, followed by genotyping by a nested RT-PCR targeting the ORF2 region. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis clustered the HEV sequence within genotype 3, subgenotype e. This the first study reporting HEV contamination of sea urchins. We hypothesize that like shellfish, sea urchins can also be a food vehicle for HEV transmission to humans.
戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）源自粪便应用径流和猪和人类粪便溢出物绕过废水处理厂，并污染沿海水域。贝类从受粪便污染的沿海水域中生物积累肠道病毒，如 HEV，根据当前的欧洲法规，贝类卫生状况监测是强制性的，但只能通过细菌粪便指标来进行。海胆也受到同样的规定的约束，并且已经指出它们容易受到粪便污染。由于它们被生吃且没有采取措施来控制/降低危害，因此肠道病毒对海胆的污染可能构成食品安全风险。因此，本研究的目的是筛选供人类食用的海胆性腺中是否存在 HEV。通过针对 ORF3 区域的逆转录定量 PCR（RT-qPCR）检测，在葡萄牙北部采集的海胆性腺中检测和定量了 HEV，然后通过针对 ORF2 区域的嵌套 RT-PCR 进行基因分型。测序和系统发育分析将 HEV 序列聚类到基因型 3、亚基因型 e 中。这是首次报道海胆中存在 HEV 污染的研究。我们假设，与贝类一样，海胆也可能是人类感染 HEV 的食物传播媒介。
