2023-07-14 13:02:31
The first study of its kind conducted in Quebec has detected traces of the presence of the hepatitis E virus in pork liver and in certain products that contain it.
Researchers at Laval University have thus found the RNA of the hepatitis E virus in raw pork livers and in nearly a third of the liver pâtés and country pâtés tested during the study. “We suspected that the virus was circulating in these animals, so especially in the pig which is one of the reservoirs of this virus, but we really wanted to confirm if it was the same thing as what was happening elsewhere ( in the world),” explained study leader Julie Jean, who is a professor in the Department of Food Sciences and a researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods at Laval University. “We wanted to have a better picture of what was going on (in Quebec). So we weren’t totally surprised to find the RNA of the virus. »
The researchers purchased, in the summer of 2022 and in Quebec grocery stores, 83 pâtés in which pork liver was one of the three main ingredients. They also obtained 79 samples of raw pork liver from slaughterhouses in different regions of Quebec. Twenty-nine percent of the pâtés and 4% of the raw pork liver samples contained virus RNA. The discrepancy is possibly due to the fact that manufacturers mix several pork livers to make a pâté. The researchers do not know at this time if the RNA comes from active viruses or if it is released by viruses destroyed during the heat treatment used to prepare the pâtés.
“We do not currently have a reliable enough method to be able to really determine if the infectious virus is inside the product, confided Ms. Jean. When we detect the RNA, we suspect very well that the virus was there at some point, but that does not guarantee us (…) that the virus can really cause illness. The next work by Ms. Jean and her team will also examine whether the processes for preparing pâtés and whether cooking pork liver are enough to render the virus harmless if ever it is present. Less known to the public than its cousins A, B, C and D, hepatitis E is an inflammation of the liver caused by HEV, can we read on the site of the World Health Organization. The virus is transmitted by the faecal-oral route, mainly through contaminated water. Around 20 million people are believed to be infected with HEV each year, mainly in East Asia and South Asia.
Symptoms of hepatitis E – such as fever, yellowing of the skin, decreased appetite and vomiting – may be indistinguishable from those that accompany other hepatitis. No outbreak of hepatitis E attributable to the consumption of food containing pork infected with this virus has yet been reported in Quebec. These foods therefore appear to pose little risk to healthy individuals. In rare cases, however, warns the WHO, acute hepatitis E can be severe and progress to a life-threatening form of the disease. Pregnant women with hepatitis E, especially during the second and third trimesters, are at increased risk of acute liver failure, fetal loss and death, says the UN health agency, which specifies that up to “20-25% of pregnant women may die if they contract hepatitis E during the third trimester”.
Given current knowledge, the consumption of these products may therefore represent an unnecessary risk for some, warned Ms. Jean. “It remains a potential risk and which should be better assessed in order to ensure that pregnant women who wish to consume these products do not find themselves in a situation which can lead to quite serious complications”, she said. in conclusion. The study was published by the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
Photo credit: Pixabay.
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