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Hepatitis A Virus, Hepatitis E Virus, and Rotavirus in Foods of Animal Origin Traded at the Borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis E (HEV), and rotavirus (RV) in fresh and processed meat traded on the border of Brazil with Argentina and Uruguay. In total, 159 samples of raw and processed foods of animal origin were collected in Paso de los Libres, Argentina (n = 53 raw meat, n = 24 processed meat) and Rivera, Uruguay (n = 55 raw meat, n = 18 processed meat), or were seized by the Brazilian International Agricultural Surveillance System—VIGIAGRO (Brazil–Argentina border) (n = 8 raw meat, n = 1 bush meat). All samples were tested for the presence of HAV, HEV, and RV genomes. HAV genes were detected in 18.23% of samples and RV genes in 23.89%. No HEV-positive samples were detected. HAV was also detected in two of the VIGIAGRO samples. Processed meats from Argentina and Uruguay had a higher rate of HAV and RV than raw meat (P > 0.05). The median HAV in the Argentinian and Uruguayan samples was 6.9 × 104 and 3.5 × 103 copies/g, respectively. The presence of RV viral genes in raw meats from Argentina was significant, and this was not observed in processed meats. The presence of HAV and RV genes in a significant portion of products from Argentina and Uruguay is a potential source of human infection. This also indicates precarious conditions of acquisition, processing, and manipulation, which could be improved by improved regulation of food across borders.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the VIGIAGRO-MAPA-Uruguaiana for supplying the seized samples, for supervision during sample collection, and introduction of food obtained in Argentina and Uruguay. We also thank Prof. Dr. Célia Barardi of the Federal University of Santa Catarina for the yield of the plasmids. We also thank the Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA) for providing a scholarship to Emanoelli Aparecida Rodrigues dos Santos (Programa de Desenvolvimento à Pesquisa PDA 2016) and for financial support (Programa de Apoio aos Grupos de Pesquisa).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Higiene Veterinária e Saúde Pública, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Campus de Botucatu, Rua Prof. Walter Maurício Correa, SN, Botucatu, SP, CEP 18618681, Brazil

    Juliano Gonçalves Pereira

  2. Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Campus Capão do Leão. Avenida Eliseu Maciel, SN, Capão do Leão, RS, CEP 96010900, Brazil

    Juliano Gonçalves Pereira, Eduarda Hallal Duval & Wladimir Padilha da Silva

  3. Universidade Federal do Pampa, Campus Uruguaiana. BR 472, Km 585, Uruguaiana, RS, CEP 97501970, Brazil

    Vanessa Mendonça Soares, Leonardo Ereno Tadielo, Emanoelli Aparecida Rodrigues dos Santos & Mário Celso Sperotto Brum

  4. Laboratório de Microbiologia Molecular, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Feevale, Rodovia ERS-239, 2755, Novo Hamburgo, RS, CEP 93525075, Brazil

    Fernanda Gil de Souza, Andreia Henzel & Fernando Rosado Spilki

Authors
  1. Juliano Gonçalves Pereira
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  2. Vanessa Mendonça Soares
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  3. Fernanda Gil de Souza
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  4. Leonardo Ereno Tadielo
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  5. Emanoelli Aparecida Rodrigues dos Santos
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  6. Mário Celso Sperotto Brum
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  7. Andreia Henzel
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  8. Eduarda Hallal Duval
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  9. Fernando Rosado Spilki
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  10. Wladimir Padilha da Silva
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Juliano Gonçalves Pereira or Wladimir Padilha da Silva.

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Pereira, J.G., Soares, V.M., de Souza, F.G. et al. Hepatitis A Virus, Hepatitis E Virus, and Rotavirus in Foods of Animal Origin Traded at the Borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Food Environ Virol 10, 365–372 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12560-018-9357-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12560-018-9357-1

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