| Theme | Update on Hepatitis E | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Hepatitis E as a Zoonotic Disease : Hepatitis E Virus Infection among Pigs | |
| Publish Date | 2006/05 | |
| Author | Masaharu Takahashi | Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine |
| Author | Hiroaki Okamoto | Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] | Infection with the hepatitis E virus (HEV) is highly prevalent among domestic pigs in many countries around the world including Japan, where genotype 3 and 4 HEVs circulate. Although there has been no direct evidence indicating HEV transmission from pigs to humans, experimental infection with HEV revealed that HEV from swine is transmissible to a chimpanzee. Furthermore, swine HEV strains with a nucleotide sequence identity of 100 % to human HEV strains have been recognized ; the majority of hepatitis E patients in Hokkaido reported a history of ingesting uncooked or undercooked pig liver 0.5 - 2 months before the onset of the disease ; and HEV RNA was detected in 1.9 % (7/363) packages of raw pig liver sold in grocery stores as food in Hokkaido. Therefore, it is beyond doubt that hepatitis E is transmitted by ingestion of uncooked or undercooked meat or viscera from pigs infected with HEV. | |