Hepatitis E virus infection in pigs: a first report from Zambia

Herman M Chambaro; Michihito Sasaki; Walter Muleya; Masahiro Kajihara; Misheck Shawa; Kabemba E Mwape; Hayato Harima; Yongjin Qiu; William W Hall; Paul Fandamu; David Squarre; Edgar Simulundu; Hirofumi Sawa; Yasuko Orba

doi:10.1080/22221751.2021.2002669

Hepatitis E virus infection in pigs: a first report from Zambia

Emerg Microbes Infect. 2021 Dec;10(1):2169-2172. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.2002669.

Authors

Herman M Chambaro^{1

2

3}, Michihito Sasaki¹, Walter Muleya⁴, Masahiro Kajihara¹, Misheck Shawa¹, Kabemba E Mwape⁵, Hayato Harima¹, Yongjin Qiu¹, William W Hall^{6

7}, Paul Fandamu³, David Squarre^{1

3

8}, Edgar Simulundu^{9

10}, Hirofumi Sawa^{1

7

11

12}, Yasuko Orba^{1

11}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Molecular Pathobiology, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Sapporo, Japan.
² Virology Laboratory, Central Veterinary Research Institute, Lusaka, Zambia.
³ Department of Veterinary Services, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁵ Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁶ National Virus Reference Laboratory, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
⁷ Global Virus Network, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁸ Department of Conservation Science, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
⁹ Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
¹⁰ Macha Research Trust, Choma, Zambia.
¹¹ International Collaboration Unit, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
¹² One Health Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

Abstract

While evidence suggests presence of HEV infection in humans in Zambia, currently, there is no information on its occurrence in domestic pigs. Here, we investigated the presence of HEV antibodies and genome in domestic pigs in Zambia. Sera (n = 484) from domestic pigs were screened for antibodies against HEV by ELISA while genome detection in fecal (n = 25) and liver (n = 100) samples from slaughter pigs was conducted using nested RT-PCR assay. Overall, seroprevalence was 47.7% (231/484) while zoonotic genotype 3 HEV RNA was detected in 16.0% (20/125) of slaughtered pigs. This is the first report to highlight occurrence of HEV infection in domestic pigs in Zambia. This finding suggests possible contamination of the pork supply chain. Moreover, there is a potential risk of zoonotic transmission of HEV to abattoir workers, pig farmers and handlers.

Keywords: Hepatitis E virus; Zambia; domestic pig; genotype 3; seroprevalence.

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Abattoirs
Animals
Hepatitis Antibodies / blood
Hepatitis E / blood
Hepatitis E / epidemiology
Hepatitis E / veterinary*
Hepatitis E / virology
Hepatitis E virus / genetics
Hepatitis E virus / immunology*
Hepatitis E virus / isolation & purification
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Sus scrofa / blood
Sus scrofa / virology
Swine
Swine Diseases / blood
Swine Diseases / epidemiology
Swine Diseases / virology*
Zambia / epidemiology

Substances

Hepatitis Antibodies

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by the Japan Initiative for Global Research Network of Infectious Diseases [grant number JP15fm0108008]; Japan Program for Infectious Diseases Research and Infrastructure [grant number JP21wm0125008] from Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED); and grants for the AMED and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) within the framework of the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) [grant number JP21jm0110019]; Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan [grant numbers 16H06429, 16H06431, 16K21723]; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI [grant number 16H05805]; Department of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock of the Republic of Zambia. The Funders had no role in the study design, data collection and interpretation.