Presence of anti hepatitis E virus antibodies in swine

Background: Swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) has a cross-reaction with human anti-HEV antibodies. Therefore, pigs could be an animal reservoir; rendering hepatitis E as a zoonosis. The spread of this infection among infected pigs across countries would be possible through trading. Previously, using an anti-human conjugate, we detected anti-HEV antibodies in adult pigs in Chile. Aim: To detect anti-HEV(ELISA) in a cohort of swine at different ages. Material and Methods. Two hundred pigs aged 42 to 360 days, divided in 20 groups of 10 animals were tested. Anti-HEV was detected by ELISA using anti-pig IgG horseradish peroxidase instead of anti-human conjugates. Results. Anti-HEV were detected in one animal aged 90 days, two animals aged 120 days, one animal aged 260 days and 2 animals aged 360 days five pregnant sows and two old bogs. This represents a total of 14 animals or 7% of the sample. Conclusions: There is a significant prevalence of anti-HEV in pigs from 90 days of birth, suggesting that these swine are a probable reservoir