Presence of hepatitis E virus in italian pig farms

Aim: EU is the second worldwide producer of pig meat after China and the biggest exporter. In 2020, 23 million tons of pig meat were produced and 5.5% comes from Italy. Due to the importance of this production for economy and public health, being pork widely consumed, pork food chain is strictly monitored to guarantee food safety. Zoonotic viruses can be foodborne and pigs are frequent reservoirs. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is recently recognized as an emerging viral zoonotic foodborne pathogen and represents the cause of foodborne outbreaks related to pork consumption. Methods: In the framework of the European Joint Programme “Biosecurity practices for pig farming across Europe (BIOPIGEE)”, the presence of HEV in pig farms over 16 EU countries was evaluated. In Italy, 47 pig farms were investigated, including both indoor and outdoor. In particular, 22 finishing, 18 breeding, 7 farrow-to-finish farms were included in the study, and 958 pooled fecal samples were collected. HEV viral genome was detected using RT-real time PCR. Results and Discussion: HEV was detected in 16/47 (34.0%) farms with the highest prevalence in finishing farms (9 farms positive out of 22, mean individual prevalence 53.9%). In conclusion, according to our results, HEV is widespread and difficult to prevent, requiring constant monitoring. One approach to prevent the occurrence of HEV-contaminated food at point of sale is reducing the occurrence of the infection at farm. The implementation of biosecurity measures at farms remains an important strategy to reduce the risk impact of diseases linked to food products of animal origin.