Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus infection in domestic pigs in the Federal District, Brazil

ABSTRACT Hepatitis E is caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV) which is currently known to be a zoonotic pathogen transmitted by pigs. In Brazil, there is no information about the circulation of HEV in the swine herd of the Federal District. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was performed with sera from 449 domestic pigs, provided by the Secretary of Agriculture of the Federal District. Blood samples were collected between June and September 2014. A commercially available ELISA kit was used for the detection of IgG antibodies. High seroprevalence of antibodies to HEV was found, since 304 animals showed anti-HEV positive reactions (67.7%; 95% CI = 63.2%, 71.9%). The seropositivity presented no difference by gender or age. The results suggest that HEV circulates among domestic pigs in the Federal District and it can serve as a warning to the local public health system due to their possible involvement in human infections.