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Detection of hepatitis E virus in slaughtered pigs in Italy

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Abstract

The stools of slaughtered pigs were screened for hepatitis E virus (HEV). HEV RNA was detected in 7.3% of the samples. HEV strains were characterized as genotype 3 subtype c, a cluster previously not described in Italy. These findings provide evidence that slaughterhouse workers may be exposed to HEV infection.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Costanzo for her technical assistance. This work was financed by a grant from the University of Teramo, Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Scienze Biomediche Comparate, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria di Teramo, Università degli Studi di Teramo, Piazza Aldo Moro, 45, 64100, Teramo, Italy

    Barbara Di Martino, Federica Di Profio, Elisabetta Di Felice, Cristina E. Di Francesco, Chiara Ceci & Fulvio Marsilio

  2. Department of Public Health and Animal Sciences, University of Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy

    Vito Martella

Authors
  1. Barbara Di Martino
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  2. Federica Di Profio
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  3. Vito Martella
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  4. Elisabetta Di Felice
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  5. Cristina E. Di Francesco
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  6. Chiara Ceci
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  7. Fulvio Marsilio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara Di Martino.

Additional information

GenBank accession numbers: The ORF1 and ORF2 nucleotide sequences obtained in this study were deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers GQ328902 and GQ223721-GQ223725, respectively.

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Di Martino, B., Di Profio, F., Martella, V. et al. Detection of hepatitis E virus in slaughtered pigs in Italy. Arch Virol 155, 103–106 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-009-0544-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-009-0544-0

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