Hepatitis E and Potential Public Health Implications from a One-Health Perspective: Special Focus on the European Wild Boar (<i>Sus scrofa</i>)
Fabio Castagna,
Giovanna Liguori,
Renato Lombardi,
Roberto Bava,
Anna Costagliola,
Antonio Giordano,
Massimiliano Quintiliani,
Denise Giacomini,
Francesco Albergo,
Andrea Gigliotti,
Carmine Lupia,
Carlotta Ceniti,
Bruno Tilocca,
Ernesto Palma,
Paola Roncada,
Domenico Britti
Affiliations
Fabio Castagna
Department of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro Magna Græcia, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Giovanna Liguori
Local Health Authority, ASL, 71121 Foggia, Italy
Renato Lombardi
Local Health Authority, ASL, 71121 Foggia, Italy
Roberto Bava
Department of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro Magna Græcia, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Anna Costagliola
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Napoli Federico II, 80100 Naples, Italy
Antonio Giordano
Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, Department of Biology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, 1900 N 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Massimiliano Quintiliani
Sbarro Health Research Organization ETS, 10060 Candiolo, Italy
Denise Giacomini
Ministry of Health, 00144 Rome, Italy
Francesco Albergo
Department of Management, Finance and Technology, University LUM Giuseppe Degennaro, 70100 Casamassima, Italy
Andrea Gigliotti
Interregional Park of Sasso Simone and Simoncello, 61021 Carpegna, Italy
The hepatitis E virus (HEV) has become increasingly important in recent years in terms of risk for public health, as the main causative agent of acute viral hepatitis. It is a foodborne disease transmitted to humans through the consumption of contaminated water or contaminated food. Human-to-human transmission is sporadic and is linked to transfusions or transplants. The main reservoirs of the hepatitis E virus are domestic pigs and wild boars, although, compared to pigs, wild boars represent a lesser source of risk since their population is smaller and the consumption of derived products is more limited. These peculiarities often make the role of the wild boar reservoir in the spread of the disease underestimated. As a public health problem that involves several animal species and humans, the management of the disease requires an interdisciplinary approach, and the concept of “One Health” must be addressed. In this direction, the present review intends to analyze viral hepatitis E, with a particular focus on wild boar. For this purpose, literature data have been collected from different scientific search engines: PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google scholar, and several keywords such as “HEV epidemiology”, “Extrahepatic manifestations of Hepatitis E”, and “HEV infection control measures”, among others, have been used. In the first part, the manuscript provides general information on the disease, such as epidemiology, transmission methods, clinical manifestations and implications on public health. In the second part, it addresses in more detail the role of wild boar as a reservoir and the implications related to the virus epidemiology. The document will be useful to all those who intend to analyze this infectious disease from a “One-Health” perspective.
