Foodborne transmission of hepatitis A and hepatitis E viruses: A literature review

Abstract

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Viral hepatitis update: Progress and perspectives

“…Hepatitis A virus (HAV), a member of the Picornaviridae family and the only species from the Hepatovirus genus that infects humans, is a non-enveloped single-stranded RNA virus[ 4 ]. HAV is classified into six genotypes, three infecting humans and three affecting simians, but there is only one known serotype[ 5 ].…”

“…After a large outbreak of foodborne hepatitis A in Europe in 2013-2014, the crucial role of sequence data analysis to investigate outbreaks and define transmission pathways was recognized, as well as the need of the agreement on a common genomic region for sequencing and a common protocol to perform HAV detection in food[ 10 ]. In this sense, with the aim of harmonizing the existing protocols for HAV detection in food, the European Committee for Standardization and the International Standards Organization developed and published a standard methodology for quantitative and qualitative determination of HAV (together with norovirus) in seven food matrices, using real-time (RT) polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which has allowed to obtain comparable results between laboratories[ 5 ]. Furthermore, the sequencing of a common consensus region was agreed to target the HAV VP1/2A junction and thus promote the protocol described in the HAVNET[ 10 ].…”

“…Although there is no legislation about the presence of HAV in environmental matrices at a global level, some countries have adopted measures for the surveillance of cases of food outbreaks due to HAV, which has led to strict controls of imported food, incorporating the mandatory control of this virus in some cases[ 11 ]. Foodborne HAV clinical cases and outbreaks are difficult to identify, track, and assess their magnitude due for many reasons: (1) The difficulty for patients to remember food consumption history before the onset of the disease; (2) The asymptomatic nature of many cases, which are not reported (in the case of outbreaks); (3) The long incubation period of HAV; (4) Viral contamination levels of a food item may be low and focal and, therefore, hard to detect; and (5) The scarce knowledge of health care teams about foodborne viral diseases[ 5 ].…”

“…The second pattern, observed mainly in industrialized countries and some parts of America, is related to the zoonotic transmission of HEV genotypes 3 (HEV-3) and 4 (HEV-4), in which pigs are considered a viral reservoir, although these viruses have also been detected in other animals, such as wild boar or deer[ 175 , 177 ]. Humans can become infected through direct contact (with many studies showing that farmers have higher levels of HEV antibodies)[ 178 ] or by ingestion of raw-undercooked animal meat or derived products, such as sausages or pates, that contain the virus[ 5 ]. Shellfish, fruits, and vegetables have also been implicated in viral transmission, probably due to pig slurry contaminating watercourses, which are used for irrigation, or being used as fertilizer[ 4 , 5 ].…”

Seafood associated human pathogenic non-enveloped viruses

“…HEV can easily pollute the surface water, entering through food production chains, especially via shellfish cultivation areas and irrigation waters function as a threat to public health (Di Cola et al 2020). The surface water's quality directly affects people using the source as drinking water, and intense agricultural activities result in high levels of viruses in these sources (Yugo and Meng, 2013).…”