Wielick Constance, Ludwig-Begall Louisa, Ribbens Stefaan, Thiry Étienne, Faes Christel, Saegerman Claude
Research Unit in Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Sciences (UREAR ULiège), FARAH Research Centre, Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
FARAH Research Centre, Veterinary Virology and Animal Viral Diseases, Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Viruses. 2025 Mar 18;17(3):432. doi: 10.3390/v17030432.
Hepatitis E viruses (HEV) cause hepatitis E in humans. In industrialized countries, sporadic HEV infections, typically caused by HEV genotypes 3 or 4, can become chronic and progress to liver cirrhosis in immunocompromised individuals. Pigs are a significant animal reservoir, implicating raw or undercooked pork products as potential sources of human infection. To better understand HEV dissemination in the Belgian pig population, potential risk factors were investigated by linking farm-level HEV serological status to biosecurity questionnaire data. Farrow-to-finish herd type, free-range systems, and poor boot hygiene were significantly associated with higher within-herd prevalences. This enabled an initial risk profiling of various farming types and the development of predictions for all Belgian pig farms. When combined with the census of the Belgian wild boar population, the predicted HEV status of all professional Belgian pig farms (based on these associations) does not suggest that the proximity of wild boars is a main source of HEV in free-ranging herds. Identifying risk factors for increased circulation of HEV between and within pig farms is critical to controlling its spread and reducing human infection.
戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）可导致人类患戊型肝炎。在工业化国家，散发性戊型肝炎病毒感染通常由3型或4型戊型肝炎病毒引起，在免疫功能低下的个体中可能会发展为慢性肝炎并进展为肝硬化。猪是重要的动物宿主，这意味着生的或未煮熟的猪肉产品可能是人类感染的潜在来源。为了更好地了解戊型肝炎病毒在比利时猪群中的传播情况，通过将农场层面的戊型肝炎病毒血清学状态与生物安全调查问卷数据相关联，对潜在风险因素进行了调查。从产仔到育肥的猪群类型、放养系统以及靴子卫生状况差与猪群内较高的患病率显著相关。这使得能够对各种养殖类型进行初步风险评估，并对所有比利时猪场进行预测。当与比利时野猪种群普查相结合时，根据这些关联预测的所有比利时专业猪场的戊型肝炎病毒状况并不表明野猪的接近是放养猪群中戊型肝炎病毒的主要来源。确定猪场之间和猪场内部戊型肝炎病毒传播增加的风险因素对于控制其传播和减少人类感染至关重要。
