Johne Reimar, Althof Nadine, Nöckler Karsten, Falkenhagen Alexander
Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Deutschland.
Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2022 Feb;65(2):202-208. doi: 10.1007/s00103-021-03476-w. Epub 2022 Jan 4.
The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an etiological agent of acute hepatitis in humans. In addition, chronic infections resulting in fatal liver cirrhosis currently emerge in immunosuppressed transplant patients. The number of notified hepatitis E cases in Germany has steeply increased in recent years. Here, genotype 3, which can be zoonotically transmitted from animals to humans, is predominant. The main reservoirs are pigs and wild boars, which show no signs of infection. In this article, the distribution of HEV in animals in Germany, possible transmission pathways, and especially the importance of food as a transmission vehicle are presented based on the current scientific literature.HEV is widely spread among domestic pigs and wild boars in Germany and the virus is mainly transmitted by direct contact or by consumption of food produced from those animals. However, if HEV RNA is detected in specific food it is often unclear whether the contained virus is still infectious or inactivated by the conditions during production. Recent studies indicate a high stability of HEV against different physicochemical conditions, whereas - among others - the virus can be efficiently inactivated by heating. Therefore, proper heating of pork meat and liver prior to consumption in general is recommended. For risk groups, avoiding shortly cured raw sausages is an additional suggestion.Further research is necessary to identify relevant risk food products, to investigate alternative transmission pathways, and to develop efficient measures in order to reduce or prevent zoonotic transmissions of the virus in future.
戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）是人类急性肝炎的病原体。此外，目前在免疫抑制的移植患者中出现了导致致命肝硬化的慢性感染。近年来，德国报告的戊型肝炎病例数急剧增加。在这里，可通过人畜共患病从动物传播给人类的3型基因型占主导地位。主要宿主是猪和野猪，它们没有感染迹象。本文根据当前的科学文献，介绍了德国动物中戊型肝炎病毒的分布、可能的传播途径，尤其是食品作为传播媒介的重要性。戊型肝炎病毒在德国的家猪和野猪中广泛传播，该病毒主要通过直接接触或食用来自这些动物的食物传播。然而，如果在特定食品中检测到戊型肝炎病毒RNA，通常不清楚所含病毒是否仍具传染性或在生产过程中因条件而失活。最近的研究表明，戊型肝炎病毒对不同物理化学条件具有高度稳定性，而该病毒尤其可通过加热有效灭活。因此，一般建议在食用猪肉和猪肝之前进行适当加热。对于风险群体，额外的建议是避免食用短期腌制的生香肠。有必要进行进一步研究，以确定相关的风险食品，调查其他传播途径，并制定有效措施，以便在未来减少或预防该病毒的人畜共患病传播。
