www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph Short Communication Surveillance of Hepatitis E Virus Contamination in Shellfish in China

Abstract: Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has been confirmed to be a zoonotic virus of worldwide distribution. HEV contamination in the water environment has not been well examined in China. The objective of this study was to evaluate HEV contamination in shellfish in a coastal area of China. Such contamination would be significant for evaluating public health risks. Methods: samples of three species shellfish were collected from thirteen points of estuarine tidal flats around the Bohai Gulf and screened for HEV RNA using an in-house nested RT-PCR assay. The detected HEV-positive samples were further verified by gene cloning and sequencing analysis. Results: the overall HEV-positive detection rate is approximately 17.5 % per kilogram of shellfish. HEV was more common among S. subcrenata (28.2%), followed by A. granosa (14.3%) and R. philippinarum (11.5%). The phylogenetic analysis of the 13 HEV strains detected revealed that gen