Hepatitis E Virus seroprevalence among cows in a rural area of southern Italy/Seroprevalencija virusa hepatitisa E u krava s ruralnih podrucja južne Italije

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is considered to be an emerging zoonotic disease, which causes numerous cases of hepatitis and deaths worldwide each year. Pigs are a host reservoir of HEV, but numerous other wild and domestic species can be infected. The aim of this study was to carry out serological screening of anti-HEV antibodies in cattle in the Sicily region (Southern Italy). Between April and December 2018, 231 serum samples were collected from cows and analysed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), for detection of HEV antibodies (IgG). The overall prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies was 36.36% (84/231; 95% CI 30-43). There were statistically significant differences in the HEV seroprevalence in animals of different ages (12 months: 39.30%; >24 months: 54.10%) (P0.05). This study shows that further investigation of HEV in cattle is required to understand better the epidemiology in farm animals and the potential zoonotic risks for humans. This is the first report of HEV seroprevalence for cows in Italy, which provides baseline data for further studies and for control of HEV infection in cattle. Key words: HEV; Hepatitis E Virus; antibodies; zoonosis; cow; ELISA Virus hepatitisa E (HEV) smatra se emergentnom zoonozom koja uzrokuje brojne slucajeve hepatitisa i uginuca širom svijeta svake godine. Svinja je rezervoar HEV-a, no mogu se zaraziti i brojne druge divlje i domace vrste. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je provesti serološki probir anti-HEV protutijela u goveda na Siciliji (južna Italija). Od travnja do prosinca 2018. prikupljen je ukupno 231 uzorak seruma krava i analiziran testom ELISA za detekciju protutijela na HEV (IgG). Prevalencija anti-HEV protutijela bila je 36,36% (84/231; 95% CI 30 - 43). Pronadena je statisticki znakovita razlika (P < 0,05) u seroprevalenciji HEV-a u životinja razlicite dobi (< 11 mjeseci: 11,41%; > 12 mjeseci: 39,30%; > 24 mjeseci: 54,10%). Nije zabilježena statisticki znakovita razlika (P > 0,05) s obzirom na spol (31,37 % u mužjaka i 37,38% u ženki). Rezultati ukazuju na potrebu daljnjih istraživanja HEV-a u goveda kako bi se bolje razumjela epidemiologija u farmskih životinja i potencijalan zoonotski rizik za ljude. Ovo je prvo izvješce o seroprevalenciji HEV-a u krava u Italiji, kojim se pružaju referentni podaci za daljnja istraživanja i kontrolu infekcije HEV-om u goveda. Klju