Serological Evidence of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Infection Among Ruminant Farmworkers: A Retrospective Study from Malaysia

BACKGROUND: As scant data are available about Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in Malaysia, this study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HEV amongst ruminant farmworkers in Malaysia. METHODS: A total of 87 farmworkers provided serum samples, which were collected from eight farms. All serum samples were tested for anti-HEV IgG and anti-HEV IgM by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the Wantai HEV-IgG and HEV-IgM ELISA kits from Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co., Ltd, Beijing, China. RESULTS: Farmworkers from six cattle farms, one sheep farm and one goat farm were investigated in this study. Only one farm practices zero-grazing, with the rest using rotational grazing. Of the 87 farmworkers, males comprised 83.9%, and almost half (47.1%) were aged 20–35 years old. By ethnic group, the vast majority were Malay. Most of the farmworkers have good hygiene practices; washing or changing their clothes and showering after dealing with farm animals were common. None of the farmworker serum samples had anti-HEV IgM and IgG detected (95% confidence interval (CI): 0, 0.0415). CONCLUSION: The finding suggests that the farmworkers had no previous exposure to Hepatitis E, and were not at risk of occupational exposure to HEV infection. Our findings suggest that a zero seroprevalence of HEV infection among ruminant farmworkers in the Muslim majority country. Good farm management, hygiene practices and the absence of contact with swine-related contamination might have contributed to the no or minimal zoonotic risks of HEV amongst farmworkers surveyed in this study.