Study of Animal Mixing and the Dynamics of Hepatitis E Virus Infection on a Farrow-to-Finish Pig Farm

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In Europe, swine are a livestock reservoir for Hepatitis E virus genotype 3 (HEV-3). Consumption of food containing HEV-3 may lead to human infection, and severe illness in some cases. Heat treatment and good hygiene practice during food preparation reduces human infection risk, but further control could be achieved by controlling HEV infection in pigs on farm. However, the key sources and timing of HEV infection in pig herds is not well understood. This study aimed to address these knowledge gaps. Pig faeces were collected from a farrow-to-finish farm on multiple occasions spanning five months and were tested for presence of HEV nucleic acid. Prevalence was always higher in growers (85.8% overall) compared to older fattener pigs (26.0%), but was detected at all visits indicating long-term persistence on the farm. Prevalence of HEV in the farm environment was also high (64.7% of 67 samples), and this may lead to continual herd re-infection. Studying infection in a single cohort of pigs over time revealed an absence of active infection in farrowing sows and young piglets. Infection first appeared in the cohort at weaner age, but only in groups that had either been weaned earlier or experienced a high degree of mixing with other pigs. ABSTRACT: In Europe, swine are a livestock reservoir for Hepatitis E virus genotype 3 (HEV-3). Consumption of food containing HEV-3 can cause zoonotic human infection, though risk is reduced by heat treatment. Implementing controls that limit infection in slaughter pigs may further reduce foodborne transmission risk but knowledge of infection dynamics on commercial farms is limited. This study addressed this knowledge gap and in particular investigated the influence of group mixing. Faeces were collected from grower (n = 212) and fattener (n = 262) pigs on a farrow-to-finish farm on four occasions. HEV RNA was detected on all occasions, and prevalence was higher in growers (85.8%) than fatteners (26.0%; p < 0.001). HEV-positive samples were also collected from the wider farm environment (n = 67; 64.7% prevalence), indicating potential sources for HEV re-circulation within the herd. Timing of infection in a cohort was also investigated. HEV was absent from all piglet faeces (n = 98) and first detected at weaner stage (25.7% prevalence), but only in groups weaned earlier or comprising pigs from many different litters. Farrowing sow faeces (n = 75) were HEV-negative but antibodies were detected in blood from two sows. Results suggest that multiple factors influence HEV infection dynamics on pig farms, and potential foci for further study into practical control solutions are highlighted.