Hepatitis E Virus Prevalence in Galician (NW Spain) Shellfish. Hepatitis E Virus Prevalence in Galician (NW Spain) Shellfish

According with the World Health Organization (WHO) HEV affects almost 20 million individuals annually causing in approximately 3.3 million acute liver injury and 56 600 deaths (WHO,2015) with the subsequent healthcare associated economic losses. Shellfish produced close to urban areas can bioaccumulate this enteric virus and infect human population by the fecal-oral route. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of HeV in molluscan shellfish approved for human consumption, increasing the vision of HEV prevalence and pointing out an important route of infection. A total of 168 samples obtained from two different Galician rías (Ría de Ares-Betanzos and Ría de Vigo) were analyzed by Rt-qPCR followed by a conventional broad-spectrum nested RT-PCR and phylogenetic analysis. HEV was detected in 41 (24,4%) samples. Quantification levels ranged from 5,80 x103 to 1,08 x 106 RNAc/g tissue. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ORF 2 region showed that all sequenced isolates belonged to genotype 3 subgenotype e, being closely related to strains of human and origin. The obtained results suggest that the prevalence of HEV in bivalve mollusc produced and commercialized in Galicia is significant and helps to clarify the possible routes of HEV contamination that could be improved.