RT Journal Article
T1 Prevalence of hepatitis E virus infection in wild boars from Spain: a possible seasonal pattern?
A1 Rivero-Juarez, Antonio
A1 Risalde, Maria A
A1 Frias, Mario
A1 Garcia-Bocanegra, Ignacio
A1 Lopez-Lopez, Pedro
A1 Cano-Terriza, David
A1 Camacho, Angela
A1 Jimenez-Ruiz, Saul
A1 Gomez-Villamandos, Jose C
A1 Rivero, Antonio
K1 Foodborne
K1 Hepatitis E
K1 Prevalence
K1 Seasonality
K1 Wild boar
AB It has been shown that wildlife can serve as natural reservoirs of hepatitis E virus (HEV). The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is probably the main natural reservoir of HEV and could therefore represent an important route of transmission in Europe, especially in regions where game meat is widely consumed. We evaluated the prevalence of HEV infection in wild boar in the south of Spain, with the aim of identifying associated risk factors. A cross-sectional study that included hunted wild boar was carried out during the 2015/2016 hunting season (October 15 to February 15) in Andalusia (southern Spain). The outcome variable was HEV infection, defined as amplification of HEV RNA in serum by RT-PCR. A total of 142 animals, selected from 12 hunting areas, were included and formed the study population. Thirty-three wild boars (23.2%; 95% CI: 16.8%-30.7%) were positive for HEV infection. Prevalence peaked in October and November, then gradually declined until the end of December. After multivariate analysis, only hunting date was independently associated with HEV infection across sex and age. Our study found a relatively high prevalence of HEV infection in wild boar in the south of Spain, suggesting that prevalence may depend on the season when the animal is hunted. In consequence, the potential risk of zoonotic transmission could fluctuate.
PB BioMed Central
YR 2018
FD 2018-02-15
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/12182
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/12182
LA en
NO Rivero-Juarez A, Risalde MA, Frias M, García-Bocanegra I, Lopez-Lopez P, Cano-Terriza D, et al. Prevalence of hepatitis E virus infection in wild boars from Spain: a possible seasonal pattern? BMC Vet Res. 2018 Feb 27;14(1):54
DS RISalud
RD Apr 7, 2025