For example, researchers from the University of Laval have found hepatitis E virus RNA in raw pig livers and in almost a third of the foie gras and country pies tested as part of the study.
“We suspected that the virus was circulating in these animals, particularly the pig, which is one of the reservoirs of this virus, but we really wanted to confirm if it was the same as what was happening elsewhere (in the world),” she explained The leader of the study, Julie Jean, Professor in the Department of Food Science and Researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, University of Laval.
“We wanted to have a better picture of what was going on (in Quebec). So we weren’t entirely surprised to find the RNA of the virus.
The researchers bought 83 pies in Quebec grocery stores in the summer of 2022, in which pork liver was one of the three main ingredients. They also received 79 samples of raw pork liver from slaughterhouses in different regions of Quebec.
29 percent of the patties and 4 percent of the raw pork liver samples contained viral RNA. The discrepancy may be due to manufacturers blending multiple pork livers into one patty.
Researchers don’t currently know if the RNA came from active viruses or if it was released from viruses that are destroyed during the heat treatment used to make the pies.
“We don’t currently have a method that is reliable enough to actually determine if the infectious virus is in the product,” Ms Jean said. If we detect the RNA, we do suspect that the virus was there at some point, but that doesn’t guarantee us (…) that the virus can actually cause disease.
The next work by Ms Jean and her team will also investigate whether the processes of making pies and cooking pork liver are sufficient to render the virus harmless, if it is ever present.
Hepatitis E is less known to the general public than its cousins A, B, C and D and hepatitis caused by HEV, as we can read on the World Health Organization website. Transmission of the virus is fecal-oral, mainly through contaminated water. It is estimated that around 20 million people become infected with HEV each year, mostly 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 associated with other hepatitis diseases.
No outbreak of hepatitis E due to consumption of foods containing pork infected with this virus has been reported in Quebec. Therefore, these foods appear to pose little risk to healthy people.
In rare cases, the WHO warns, however, acute hepatitis E can be serious and lead to a life-threatening form of the disease.
Pregnant women with hepatitis E, particularly in the second and third trimesters, are at increased risk of acute liver failure, fetal loss and death, according to the UN health agency, which says up to “20-25% of pregnant women die You can if…” You’ll get hepatitis E in the third trimester.”
According to the current state of knowledge, the consumption of these products could therefore pose an unnecessary risk for some, Ms Jean warned.
“There remains a potential risk that should be better assessed to ensure that pregnant women who wish to consume these products are not put in a situation that could lead to serious complications,” she concluded.
The study was published by the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.