Prospection of Hepatitis E Virus in Human, Swine and Sewage Samples in Spain

Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection among humans is sporadic in European countries. Nevertheless, cases of HEV infection, either imported or autochthonous, have been reported from many countries, including Spain [1,2]. With a single exception [3], autochthonous cases reported from Europe were always due to HEV genotype 3 (HEV-3), which has been found also in swine livestock, wild boar and deer, and might be circulating among other animals. HEV genotype 1 (HEV-1) has been, however, repeatedly detected in sewage from the city of Barcelona [4]. Direct contact with infected animals and consumption of contaminated meat are involved in transmission of HEV-3 to humans [5-7], but other mechanisms cannot be ruled-out. HEV-3 strains isolated from humans and swine livestock from the same country have always been found closely related [8,9].