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. 2017 Apr 27;12(4):e0176414.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176414. eCollection 2017.

Meat consumption is a major risk factor for hepatitis E virus infection

Ed Slot  1 , Hans L Zaaijer  1   2 , Michel Molier  1 , Katja Van den Hurk  3 , Femmeke Prinsze  3 , Boris M Hogema  1
Affiliations

Meat consumption is a major risk factor for hepatitis E virus infection

Ed Slot et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The incidence of autochthonous hepatitis E virus genotype 3 (HEV gt3) infections in Western Europe is high. Although pigs are a major reservoir of the virus, the exact sources and transmission route(s) of HEV gt3 to humans remain unclear.

Methods: To determine the role of meat consumption at a population level, the seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG antibodies was compared between Dutch blood donors with a vegetarian lifestyle and donors who consume meat on a daily basis.

Results: The age-weighted anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence among donors not eating meat was significantly lower than among meat-eating donors (12.4% vs 20.5%, p = 0.002). For both groups the prevalence strongly increased with age and the difference in prevalence was apparent for all age groups.

Conclusions: Compared with meat-eating donors, the incidence of HEV infection is significantly lower among donors not eating meat, indicating that meat consumption is a major risk factor for HEV infection.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Anti-HEV prevalence in donors with a vegetarian lifestyle (triangles) and donors who consume meat on a daily basis (circles).
For comparison, the age-dependent seroprevalence from our previous study is shown (diamonds) [18].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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