Butchering activity is the main risk factor for hepatitis E virus (Paslahepevirus balayani) infection in southwestern Nigeria: a prospective cohort study

Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiology

David Olusoga Ogbolu¹  Oluyinka O. Opaleye²  Adeolu S. Oluremi²  Diana Corona-Mata³  Maria Casares-Jimenez³  Pedro Lopez-Lopez⁴  Antonio Rivero⁴  Antonio Rivero-Juarez⁴  Javier Caballero-Gomez⁵ 

[1] Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Osun State University, Ogbomoso, Nigeria;Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria;Unit of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia, Instituto Maimonides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Universidad de Córdoba (UCO), Córdoba, Spain;Unit of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia, Instituto Maimonides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Universidad de Córdoba (UCO), Córdoba, Spain;CIBERINFEC, ISCIII – CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain;Unit of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia, Instituto Maimonides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Universidad de Córdoba (UCO), Córdoba, Spain;CIBERINFEC, ISCIII – CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain;Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Zoonosis (GISAZ), UIC Zoonosis y Enfermedades Emergentes ENZOEM, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain;

关键词: HEV;    IgG;    IgM;    ELISA;    butchering;    animal contact;    zoonoses;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2023.1247467

 received in 2023-06-26, accepted in 2023-09-05,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionPaslahepevirus balayani (Hepatitis E virus; HEV) is an emerging virus that poses as a public health threat. The virus is now reported to be the leading cause of acute viral hepatitis, with a unique impact on African settings. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for HEV infection in three cohorts (animal handlers, villagers, and students).MethodsA prospective cross-sectional study was carried out on a total of 752 subjects from southwestern Nigeria. In all individuals, anti-HEV IgG and anti-HEV IgM antibodies were evaluated by using ELISA (confirming positive results via immunoblotting), and serum viral RNA was evaluated by using two RT-PCR assays.ResultsThe overall seroprevalence of HEV IgG and HEV IgM was 14.9% (95% CI: 12.5–17.6%) and 1.3% (95% CI: 0.7–2.5%), respectively. We observed the highest seroprevalence among animal contact individuals, with butchers being the population with the highest HEV IgG seroprevalence (31.1%). Similarly, HEV IgM was higher in the animal contact group (2.2%) than in the non-animal contact cohort (0%).DiscussionsViral RNA was not detected in any of the samples. Butchering was significantly associated with higher HEV prevalence. Although all efforts to prevent HEV in Africa have focused on the chlorination of water, our study suggests that most new infections could currently be linked to animal manipulation. Therefore, education and guidelines must be provided in southwest Nigeria to ensure that animal handling and processing methods are safe.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Oluremi, Casares-Jimenez, Opaleye, Caballero-Gomez, Ogbolu, Lopez-Lopez, Corona-Mata, Rivero-Juarez and Rivero.