High Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus Infection Among East Balkan Swine (Sus scrofa) in Bulgaria: Preliminary Results

Ilia Tsachev; Magdalena Baymakova; Roman Pepovich; Nadezhda Palova; Plamen Marutsov; Krasimira Gospodinova; Todor Kundurzhiev; Massimo Ciccozzi

doi:10.3390/pathogens9110911

High Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Virus Infection Among East Balkan Swine (Sus scrofa) in Bulgaria: Preliminary Results

Pathogens. 2020 Nov 3;9(11):911. doi: 10.3390/pathogens9110911.

Authors

Ilia Tsachev¹, Magdalena Baymakova², Roman Pepovich³, Nadezhda Palova⁴, Plamen Marutsov¹, Krasimira Gospodinova¹, Todor Kundurzhiev⁵, Massimo Ciccozzi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, 6000 Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
² Department of Infectious Diseases, Military Medical Academy, 1606 Sofia, Bulgaria.
³ Department of Infectious Pathology, Hygiene, Technology and Control of Foods from Animal Origin, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria.
⁴ Scientific Center of Agriculture, 8300 Sredets, Bulgaria.
⁵ Department of Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University, 1527 Sofia, Bulgaria.
⁶ Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology, Universita Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy.

Abstract

The East Balkan swine (Sus scrofa) is the only aboriginal pig breed in Bulgaria, and it is indigenous to the eastern part of the country. The aim of the present study was to investigate East Balkan swine (EBS) in Bulgaria for serological evidence of hepatitis E virus (HEV). Sera from 171 swine from two parts of the country (northeastern and southeastern) were tested for anti-HEV IgG antibodies. The overall HEV seroprevalence was 82.5% (141/171), and for weaners it was 77.2% (44/57), for fattening pigs 79.0% (45/57), and for adults 91.2% (52/57). HEV positivity was higher in fattening pigs and adults compared to weaners: OR = 1.108 (95% CI: 0.456-2.692) and OR = 3.073 (95% CI: 1.016-9.294), respectively. This study provides the first evidence of exposure to HEV in EBS from Bulgaria.

Keywords: Bulgaria; East Balkan swine; Sus scrofa; hepatitis E virus; seroprevalence.