Study: Two-thirds of pig slurry samples from Northwestern Germany contain hepatitis E viruses
Electron micrograph of hepatitis E viruses (HEV).
Scientists at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) have examined pig slurry from the northwestern region of Germany and detected hepatitis E viruses in two-thirds of the samples, some with very high viral loads. According to the researchers' assessment, pig manure fertilizer could therefore be a potential environmental reservoir for these viruses. The researchers have published their findings in the journal One Health.
“The potential role of pig manure as a reservoir contributing to the transmission of hepatitis E virus genotype 3 into the environment and to zoonotic transmission has not yet been sufficiently researched,” says PD Dr. Sven Pischke from the First Medical Clinic and Polyclinic at the UKE. “Our current study shows that not only the consumption of pork, but also potentially fertilizer poses a risk of infection, meaning that even vegetarians could become infected,” adds Pischke. The specialist in internal medicine is also a scientist in the research area Hepatitis of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).
For their study, the researchers collected 61 samples of pig manure from various collection points in northwestern Germany and tested them for the presence of hepatitis E and hepatitis A virus RNA using PCR testing. Hepatitis E virus RNA was detected in 67 percent of the samples, while hepatitis A virus RNA was not detected in any of the samples. In industrialized countries, pork is considered the main source of transmission for hepatitis E viruses of genotypes 3 and 4. In Germany, other studies have found that approximately ten percent of pork samples available in retail outlets tested positive for hepatitis E viruses.
Source: Press release of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (in German)
