Janssens Heidi, Delameillieure Lies, Jonckheere Stijn, Van Houtte Freya, Meuleman Philip, Geens Tom
Research and Analytics, Liantis, Bruges, Belgium.
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Zoonoses Public Health. 2025 Aug;72(5):442-452. doi: 10.1111/zph.13223. Epub 2025 May 2.
Autochthonous hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in industrialised countries is a zoonosis. Pigs are recognised as the principal reservoir. Consequently, workers in the pig sector may be a high-risk occupational group for HEV infection. The current study aims to investigate whether workers exposed to pigs or pork have a higher seroprevalence of HEV IgG in comparison to a control group.
A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 92 individuals occupationally exposed to pigs or pork and 217 control subjects outside the pig sector. Socio-demographic variables, information about occupation, and a number of relevant confounding variables (such as eating habits, and history of blood transfusions) were gathered by a questionnaire. Serum samples were tested for anti-HEV IgG antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Our study revealed a significantly higher seroprevalence of HEV antibodies in pig workers (32.6%) compared to the control group (9.2%) (p < 0.001). The relation between occupational exposure and HEV seropositivity remained significant in the multiple logistic regression analysis, in which the odds were adjusted for age, gender, and eating habits.
The results from this first HEV IgG serology study in the pig sector in Belgium demonstrate that workers in this sector have a higher risk for HEV infection compared to a population not occupationally exposed to pigs and pork. These findings underscore the need for targeted occupational health interventions, including improved hygiene practices and informing employees with risk profiles, to mitigate the risk of HEV infection among pig workers.
在工业化国家，戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）的本土感染是一种人畜共患病。猪被认为是主要宿主。因此，养猪行业的工人可能是感染HEV的高风险职业群体。本研究旨在调查与对照组相比，接触猪或猪肉的工人中HEV IgG的血清阳性率是否更高。
进行了一项横断面研究，涉及92名职业性接触猪或猪肉的个体以及217名养猪行业以外的对照受试者。通过问卷调查收集社会人口统计学变量、职业信息以及一些相关的混杂变量（如饮食习惯和输血史）。使用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）检测血清样本中的抗HEV IgG抗体。
我们的研究显示，养猪工人中HEV抗体的血清阳性率（32.6%）显著高于对照组（9.2%）（p < 0.001）。在多因素逻辑回归分析中，职业暴露与HEV血清阳性之间的关系仍然显著，其中对年龄、性别和饮食习惯进行了比值比调整。
比利时养猪行业的这项首次HEV IgG血清学研究结果表明，与未职业性接触猪和猪肉的人群相比，该行业的工人感染HEV的风险更高。这些发现强调了有针对性的职业健康干预措施的必要性，包括改善卫生习惯和向员工通报风险情况，以降低养猪工人感染HEV的风险。
