Serological investigation on hepatitis E virus infection in swine population raising in household farms in Bac Giang and Nghe An provinces

Abstract

Hepatitis E is caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV), a zoonotic disease that transmitted to
human through pigs. Until the present, the information on hepatitis E virus prevalence among the
pig flocks in Viet Nam are scarce. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study with 594 swine
serum samples collected from small-scale farmers in Bac Giang and Nghe An provinces in 2018,
these samples were a part of the cooperation program-CRP-Liverstock research, between National
Institute of Veterinary Research and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The pig
serum samples were tested for anti-hepatitis E virus IgG with ELISA test. The studied result showed
that the sero-prevalence of anti-hepatitis E antibodies was quite high, 290 serum samples positively tested with anti-hepatitis E IgG (48.82%; 95% CI = 44.73-52.92 %). The positive serum rate was
different among the pig age groups, this rate was lower in the pig age group under 4 months old
(36.52%) and higher in the groups over 4 months old (from 50.75 % above). The sero-prevalence
was not different for the distinction and herd sizes in the small holder pig production. The results of
our study show that there is a sero-prevalence of hepatitis E virus in the pigs raised in the household
farms, this information is a warning to the public health of the increased possibility of hepatitis E
infection from the domestic pigs