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Abid I, Blanco A, Al-Otaibi N, Guix S, Costafreda MI, Pintó RM, Bosch A. Dynamic and Seasonal Distribution of Enteric Viruses in Surface and Well Water in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). Pathogens 2023; 12:1405. [PMID: 38133289 PMCID: PMC10747075 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12121405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Enteric viruses are the major cause of gastroenteritis and enteric hepatitis worldwide, but in some areas like Saudi Arabia, little is known about their presence in water sources. The available information from clinical samples is not enough to figure out their actual prevalence. The aim of this study was to gather information for the first time in Saudi Arabia on the presence of the Norovirus (NoV) genogroup GI and GII, hepatitis A virus (HAV), and hepatitis E virus (HEV) in water. For this purpose, thirteen monthly samples were collected from Lake Wadi Hanifa and surrounding wells from December 2014 to November 2015. Viruses were detected and quantified using real-time RT-qPCR. Despite HEV findings being anecdotic, our results highlight interesting behaviors of the other viruses. There was a higher prevalence of noroviruses in Wadi Hanifa samples than in well water samples (46.43% vs. 12.5% of NoV GI; 66.67% vs. 8.33% of NoV GII). On the contrary, similar levels of HAV positivity were observed (40.48% in surface water vs. 43.06% in well water). Also, a strong influence of flooding events on HAV and NoV GI occurrence was observed in both surface and well water samples, with NoV GII apparently not affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Islem Abid
- Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, College of Applied Medical Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11495, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Albert Blanco
- Enteric Virus Laboratory, Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, School of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (A.B.); (S.G.); (M.I.C.); (R.M.P.)
- Research Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB), University of Barcelona, 08921 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nawal Al-Otaibi
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, Science College, King Saud University, Riyadh 11495, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Susana Guix
- Enteric Virus Laboratory, Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, School of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (A.B.); (S.G.); (M.I.C.); (R.M.P.)
- Research Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB), University of Barcelona, 08921 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria I. Costafreda
- Enteric Virus Laboratory, Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, School of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (A.B.); (S.G.); (M.I.C.); (R.M.P.)
- Research Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB), University of Barcelona, 08921 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rosa M. Pintó
- Enteric Virus Laboratory, Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, School of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (A.B.); (S.G.); (M.I.C.); (R.M.P.)
- Research Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB), University of Barcelona, 08921 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Albert Bosch
- Enteric Virus Laboratory, Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, School of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (A.B.); (S.G.); (M.I.C.); (R.M.P.)
- Research Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB), University of Barcelona, 08921 Barcelona, Spain
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Santos-Silva S, Hemnani M, Lopez-Lopez P, Gonçalves HMR, Rivero-Juarez A, Van der Poel WHM, Nascimento MSJ, Mesquita JR. A Systematic Review of Hepatitis E Virus Detection in Camels. Vet Sci 2023; 10:vetsci10050323. [PMID: 37235406 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10050323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) represents a major cause of acute hepatitis and is considered an emerging public health problem around the world. In the Middle East's and Africa's arid regions, where camels frequently interact with human populations and camel-derived food products are a component of the food chain, camel-borne zoonotic HEV infection is a potential threat. To date, no review paper has been published on HEV in camels. As such, the purpose of the current work is to provide a scientific review of the identification of HEV genotypes seven and eight in camels worldwide to have a better understanding of the current status of this topic and to identify gaps in the current knowledge. Searches were carried out in the electronic databases PubMed, Mendeley, Web of Science, and Scopus, including studies published until 31 December 2022 (n = 435). Once the databases were checked for duplicate papers (n = 307), the exclusion criteria were applied to remove any research that was not relevant (n = 118). As a result, only 10 papers were found to be eligible for the study. Additionally, in eight of the ten studies, the rates of HEV infection were found to be between 0.6% and 2.2% in both stool and serum samples. Furthermore, four studies detected HEV genotype seven in dromedary camels, and two studies have shown HEV genotype eight in Bactrian camels. Interestingly, these genotypes were recently reported in camels from the Middle East and China, where one human infection with HEV genotype seven has been associated with the consumption of contaminated camel meat and milk. In conclusion, more research will be needed to determine the prevalence of HEV infection in camels around the world as well as the risk of foodborne transmission of contaminated camel products. As camels are utility animals in several countries, HEV in these animals may pose a potential risk to public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sérgio Santos-Silva
- ICBAS-Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - Mahima Hemnani
- ICBAS-Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - Pedro Lopez-Lopez
- Grupo de Virología Clínica y Zoonosis, Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba, Hospital Reina Sofía, Universidad de Córdoba, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC) Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28220 Madrid, Spain
| | - Helena M R Gonçalves
- Biosensor Ntech-Nanotechnology Services, Lda, Avenida da Liberdade, 249, 1° Andar, 1250-143 Lisboa, Portugal
- REQUIMTE, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
| | - António Rivero-Juarez
- Grupo de Virología Clínica y Zoonosis, Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba, Hospital Reina Sofía, Universidad de Córdoba, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC) Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28220 Madrid, Spain
| | - Wim H M Van der Poel
- Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology Group, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department Virology & Molecular Biology, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, 8200 AB Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | | | - João R Mesquita
- ICBAS-Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
- Epidemiology Research Unit (EPIUnit), Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto, 4050-600 Porto, Portugal
- Laboratório Para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), 4050-600 Porto, Portugal
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Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: A Population-Based Seroprevalence Study. Viruses 2023; 15:v15020484. [PMID: 36851698 PMCID: PMC9964995 DOI: 10.3390/v15020484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a common cause of viral hepatitis worldwide. Little is known about the seroprevalence of HEV in the general population of Saudi Arabia. METHODS A community-based cross-sectional HEV seroprevalence study was conducted in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Anti-HEV IgG antibodies were detected in sera using an in-house ELISA. The frequency of HEV sageerology and its correlation with demographic, and environmental factors were evaluated. RESULTS Enrollment consisted of 1329 individuals, ages ranged from 8 to 88 years, the mean age was 30.17 years, the median age was 28yrs, and the male: female ratio was 1.15. The overall seroprevalence was 23.8% (316/1329). Males had significantly higher seroprevalence than females (66.1 vs. 33.9%; p < 0.001). Seroprevalence had significant correlations with age, occupation, and lack of regular water supply and housing conditions. CONCLUSIONS This is the first HEV community-based seroprevalence study from Saudi Arabia. Results show that the HEV is endemic in Makkah and affects all age groups and occupations. HEV affects more males than females and those living in crowded accommodations without a regular supply of water. Further studies are required across all regions of Saudi Arabia to determine the country's seroprevalence of active or past infection using tests for HEV IgG, HEV IgM antibodies and/or HEV RNA and underlying determinants of transmission.
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Sayed IM, Abdelwahab SF. Is Hepatitis E Virus a Neglected or Emerging Pathogen in Egypt? Pathogens 2022; 11:1337. [PMID: 36422589 PMCID: PMC9697431 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11111337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Though Egypt ranks among the top countries for viral hepatitis and death-related liver disease, Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a neglected pathogen. Living in villages and rural communities with low sanitation, use of underground well water and contact with animals are the main risk factors for HEV infection. Domestic animals, especially ruminants and their edible products, are one source of infection. Contamination of water by either human or animal stools is the main route of infection. In addition, HEV either alone or in coinfection with other hepatotropic viruses has been recorded in Egyptian blood donors. HEV seropositivity among Egyptian villagers was 60-80%, especially in the first decade of life. Though HEV seropositivity is the highest among Egyptians, HEV infection is not routinely diagnosed in Egyptian hospitals. The initial manifestations of HEV among Egyptians is a subclinical infection, although progression to fulminant hepatic failure has been recorded. With the improvement in serological and molecular approaches and increasing research on HEV, it is becoming clear that HEV represents a threat for Egyptians and preventive measures should be considered to reduce the infection rate and possible complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibrahim M. Sayed
- Department of Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
| | - Sayed F. Abdelwahab
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
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Current Knowledge of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Epidemiology in Ruminants. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11101124. [PMID: 36297181 PMCID: PMC9609093 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11101124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection represents an emerging public health concern worldwide. In industrialized countries, increasing numbers of autochthonous cases of human HEV infection are caused by zoonotic transmission of genotypes 3 and 4, mainly through the consumption of contaminated raw or undercooked meat of infected pigs and wild boars, which are considered the main reservoirs of HEV. However, in the last few years, accumulating evidence seems to indicate that several other animals, including different ruminant species, may harbor HEV. Understanding the impact of HEV infection in ruminants and identifying the risk factors affecting transmission among animals and to humans is critical in order to determine their role in the epidemiological cycle of HEV. In this review, we provide a summary of current knowledge on HEV ecology in ruminants. A growing body of evidence has revealed that these animal species may be potential important hosts of HEV, raising concerns about the possible implications for public health.
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