Department of Veterinary Medicine, Specialization School in Food Inspection "G. Tiecco", University of Teramo, Piano d'Accio, Strada Porvinciale 18, 64100, Teramo, Italy.
Veterinary Practitioner, Ascoli Piceno, Italy.
Food Environ Virol. 2023 Jun;15(2):158-166. doi: 10.1007/s12560-023-09554-3. Epub 2023 Apr 7.
Every year, foodborne pathogens, including the hepatitis E virus (HEV), cause thousands of infections in different continents. Final consumers become infected through the ingestion of contaminated animal origin foodstuffs. Generally, in industrialized countries, HEV genotype 3 is involved in sporadic outbreaks. Infections have been described, in Europe and Japan as consequence of pork products and contaminated wild boar's primary or processed products (liver and muscle tissues) consumption. In Central Italy, hunting activities are largely practiced. In these small and rural communities, game meat and liver are ingested by hunters' families or at local and traditional restaurants. Therefore, these food chains can be considered critical HEV reservoirs. In this study, 506 liver and diaphragm tissues were collected from hunted wild boars in the Southern Marche region (Central Italy) and were screened for HEV RNA detection. From the 10.87% of liver and 2.76% of muscle samples, HEV3 subtype c was discovered. The observed prevalence values resulted in line with previous investigations performed in other Central Italian regions, but higher than Northern ones (3.7% and 1.9% from liver tissue). Therefore, the obtained epidemiological data highlighted the wide occurrence of HEV RNA circulation in a low-investigated area. Basing on results, a One-health approach was adopted due to the sanitary relevance of this Public Health concern.
每年，食源性病原体（包括戊型肝炎病毒）都会在各大洲引发数千例感染。终末消费者通过摄入受污染的动物源食品而感染。通常，在工业化国家，HEV 基因型 3 与散发性暴发有关。在欧洲和日本，由于食用猪肉产品和受污染的野猪初级或加工产品（肝脏和肌肉组织）而导致感染的情况已有描述。在意大利中部，狩猎活动广泛开展。在这些小型农村社区中，猎人们的家人或当地和传统的餐馆会食用野味肉和肝脏。因此，这些食物链可被视为关键的 HEV 储存库。在这项研究中，从意大利中南部马尔凯地区（Southern Marche region）捕获的野猪中采集了 506 份肝脏和横膈膜组织，以筛查 HEV RNA 检测。在 10.87%的肝脏样本和 2.76%的肌肉样本中发现了 HEV3 亚型 c。观察到的流行率值与在其他意大利中部地区进行的先前调查结果一致，但高于北部地区（肝脏组织为 3.7%和 1.9%）。因此，获得的流行病学数据突出了 HEV RNA 在一个低调查区域的广泛传播。鉴于该公共卫生问题的卫生重要性，我们采用了一种 One-health 方法。
