TY - JOUR
T1 - High circulation of Hepatitis E virus in pigs and professionals exposed to pigs in Laos
AU - Khounvisith, Vilaysone
AU - Tritz, Silvia
AU - Khenkha, Latdavone
AU - Phoutana, Vannaphone
AU - Keosengthong, Amphone
AU - Pommasichan, Sisavath
AU - Nouanthong, Phonethipsavanh
AU - Hübschen, Judith M.
AU - Snoeck, Chantal J.
AU - Reinharz, Daniel
AU - Muller, Claude P.
AU - Black, Antony P.
AU - Pauly, Maude
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful for the commitment of the students from the Faculty of Agriculture in collecting animal samples and administrating the questionnaires. We also thank the village chiefs and the primary animal health workers of the villages for their support. We would also like to express our gratitude towards the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR for approving the study. Mrs. Bounta Vongphachannh, Latdavone Khenkha, Sol?ne Cordel and Aur?lie Sausy performed or supervised part of the laboratory analyses. The authors wish to thank Ulla Muller, Carole Weis, as well as the administrative staff of Institut Pasteur for providing valuable logistic support. Finally, we are grateful to all study participants. This study was funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Luxembourg (project ?Lao Luxembourg Partnership for Research and Capacity Building in Infectious Disease Surveillance II?).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH
PY - 2018/12
Y1 - 2018/12
N2 - Epidemiological characteristics of hepatitis E Virus (HEV) differ due to the vast spatial heterogeneity in sanitation status, dietary habits and extent of exposure to animals. Although HEV infections are mostly asymptomatic, prognosis is poor for patients with compromised immune systems or pre-existing liver disease and during pregnancy. In developing countries, low hygienic standards and close human–animal interactions at farms and slaughterhouses likely favour zoonotic transmission of the virus. In this cross-sectional study from Lao People's Democratic Republic, anti-HEV IgG was detected by ELISA in 54.0% (136/252) of slaughter pigs, in 41.0% (57/139) of professionals exposed to pigs and in 18.1% of the nonrisk controls (38/210). We show that people occupationally exposed to pigs are at higher risk of infection (p < 0.001). In particular, contact to young piglets as compared to contact to the older slaughter pigs was a major risk factor (p = 0.011). Besides, consumption of bottled water significantly reduced the risk of infection (p = 0.018). In conclusion, we show that in Lao PDR, the high endemicity of HEV, the inadequate implementation of hygiene measures and the limited access to safe water jeopardize the health of professionals exposed to pigs.
AB - Epidemiological characteristics of hepatitis E Virus (HEV) differ due to the vast spatial heterogeneity in sanitation status, dietary habits and extent of exposure to animals. Although HEV infections are mostly asymptomatic, prognosis is poor for patients with compromised immune systems or pre-existing liver disease and during pregnancy. In developing countries, low hygienic standards and close human–animal interactions at farms and slaughterhouses likely favour zoonotic transmission of the virus. In this cross-sectional study from Lao People's Democratic Republic, anti-HEV IgG was detected by ELISA in 54.0% (136/252) of slaughter pigs, in 41.0% (57/139) of professionals exposed to pigs and in 18.1% of the nonrisk controls (38/210). We show that people occupationally exposed to pigs are at higher risk of infection (p < 0.001). In particular, contact to young piglets as compared to contact to the older slaughter pigs was a major risk factor (p = 0.011). Besides, consumption of bottled water significantly reduced the risk of infection (p = 0.018). In conclusion, we show that in Lao PDR, the high endemicity of HEV, the inadequate implementation of hygiene measures and the limited access to safe water jeopardize the health of professionals exposed to pigs.
KW - ELISA
KW - Lao People's Democratic Republic
KW - risk factors
KW - seroprevalence
KW - slaughter swine
KW - zoonotic virus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052782943&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/zph.12520
DO - 10.1111/zph.12520
M3 - Article
C2 - 30152201
AN - SCOPUS:85052782943
SN - 1863-1959
VL - 65
SP - 1020
EP - 1026
JO - Zoonoses and Public Health
JF - Zoonoses and Public Health
IS - 8
ER -