ArticlePLoS pathogens2025
Zoonotic hepatitis E virus spreads through environmental routes in pig herds - A phylodynamic analysis.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Worldwide, many pig farms are affected by hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3, a zoonotic virus that causes hepatitis in humans. People can become infected after eating contaminated pork, making HEV control in pig farms crucial for public health. However, knowledge of HEV transmission dynamics and control options within farms is limited. Our findings reveal that HEV persists in the farm environment, enabling transmission between pigs separated in space and time. We investigated HEV transmission on two Dutch finishing farms for nine months in 2022. In both farms, samples from three compartments (confined rooms), holding 12 pens with pigs each, were collected and tested weekly across three batches (consecutively housed groups of pigs). Additionally, at least one sample per HEV-positive pen was sequenced per batch, retrieving 89 near-complete sequences. We integrated epidemiological data on duration and timing of infection with phylogenetic data to quantify transmission. We observed phylogenetic clustering of pens per compartment in both farms. In farm A, some sequences from different compartments and different batches also clustered, suggesting transmission between pigs housed separately. In farm B, only one compartment became HEV-positive during one batch. Within that compartment, between-pen transmission was efficient, with an effective reproduction number (Re) of 3.6 (95% HPD interval 1.3-6.7). The other compartments and batch may have remained HEV-negative thanks to stringent biosecurity measures applied on that farm. In farm A, the Re's for transmission between pens within and across compartments were not significantly above 1, yet all sampled pens became positive in all batches. A combination of transmission routes, in conjunction with persistence of HEV in the environment, is required to explain why all pens tested positive. These findings show not only how HEV effectively spreads without pigs sharing housing, yet also that reduction of HEV's zoonotic risk may be achieved by improved biosecurity within farms.
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