e Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection of zoonotic origin is an emerging concern in industrialized countries. In the past few years, several cases of zoonotic hepatitis E have been identified and the consumption of food products derived from pork liver have been associated with clusters of human cases. More specifically, raw or undercooked pork products have been incriminated. Few data on the effect of heating on HEV inactivation in food products are available. In the present study, the various times and temperatures that are used during industrial processing of pork products were applied to experimentally contaminated food preparations. After treatment, the presence of residual infectious virus particles was investigated using real-time reverse transcription-PCR and an in vivo experimental model in pigs. Results show that heating the food to an internal temperature of 71°C for 20 min is necessary to completely inactivate HEV. These results are very important for determining processing methods to ensure food safety in regard to food-borne hepatitis E. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections are responsible for large epidemics of acute viral hepatitis in several developing countries in tropical and subtropical regions. In addition, sporadic cases of hepatitis E have also been reported in the United States, Japan, and Europe. HEV is becoming the first cause of enterically transmitted hepatitis in humans.The disease caused by HEV is typically characterized as selflimiting acute hepatitis with low mortality. However, severe hepatitis has been reported in pregnant women, with up to 20% mortality (23). A significant proportion of healthy individuals in industrialized countries are seropositive for HEV, and a high prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies of more than 20% has been reported in some areas of the United States (18). Anti-HEV antibodies have also been detected in many animal species, and HEV RNA has been isolated from domestic pigs and wild animals (boars, deer, and mongoose). HEV is the only hepatitis virus that infects animals other than primates (22).The virus is a nonenveloped, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus, classified in the Hepevirus genus of the Hepeviridae family (11). HEV sequences isolated worldwide can be classified into four major genotypes. Genotypes 1 and 2 have been reported in humans from Asia and Africa and from Mexico. Genotypes 3 and 4 have been identified in both humans and swine in industrialized countries as well as in Asia (23).In regions of endemicity, the main transmission pathway of hepatitis E virus is through consumption of contaminated water or spoiled food. In contrast, in areas of nonendemicity, ingestion of raw or undercooked contaminated deer and boar meat has been associated with sporadic cases of acute hepatitis E in humans (19,26). Furthermore, in several countries, 2 to 11% of pork livers on the market or at slaughterhouses are contaminated by HEV, and some contain infectious virus particles (2,13,25,27). More recently, in France, several cases of hepatitis E were associate...

Background: CCR5 is a chemokine receptor and a coreceptor for HIV entry. Results: A pool of spare CCR5 binds the potent anti-HIV chemokine analog PSC-RANTES but not native chemokines. Conclusion:Targeting a large number of CCR5 improves the anti-HIV property of PSC-RANTES. Significance: Spare receptors represent a target for inhibiting HIV and might constitute a viral escape route.