| Autor: |
Borghi M; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche 'T. Rosati', 06126 Perugia, Italy., Pierboni E; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche 'T. Rosati', 06126 Perugia, Italy., Primavilla S; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche 'T. Rosati', 06126 Perugia, Italy., Scoccia E; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche 'T. Rosati', 06126 Perugia, Italy., Costantini C; Department of Medicine and Surgery, Pathology Division, University of Perugia, L. Severi Square, 06129 Perugia, Italy., Suffredini E; Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy., Graziani A; Department of Medicine and Surgery, Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology Division, University of Perugia, L. Severi Square, 06129 Perugia, Italy., Macellari P; Regione Umbria, Direzione Salute e Welfare-Servizio Prevenzione, Sanità Veterinaria e Sicurezza Alimentare, 06124 Perugia, Italy., Macrì S; Regione Umbria, Direzione Salute e Welfare-Servizio Prevenzione, Sanità Veterinaria e Sicurezza Alimentare, 06124 Perugia, Italy., Farneti S; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche 'T. Rosati', 06126 Perugia, Italy., Valiani A; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche 'T. Rosati', 06126 Perugia, Italy. |
| Abstrakt: |
Consumption of raw or undercooked wild boar (WB) meat is considered an important risk factor for hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in humans. The possibility of HEV contamination during the slaughtering practices may pose an additional risk. Based on these assumptions, we evaluated HEV contamination of WB meat hunted in Umbria (central Italy) during the 2022-2023 hunting season by real-time RT-PCR. Herein, we show that 10.8% of livers from slaughtered WB were positive for HEV RNA, thus providing an estimate of HEV infection in WB in the Umbria region. Then, by evaluating paired liver-muscle samples from both HEV-positive and HEV-negative animals, we found evidence of muscle HEV contamination in 33% and 14% of cases, respectively. This is the first report on the detection of HEV in WB meat in Umbria, an Italian region with diffuse WB hunting and consumption. The evidence of contamination provided by our study underscores the importance of adopting good hygienic practices in the processing stages of hunted WB carcasses to significantly reduce meat contamination and the risk posed for the final consumer. |
