No surprise here then: a similar situation to Britain, finally admitted.
What is disgraceful is how long the scandal took to be reported - and the health implications for pig farmers and staff, and, not least, veterinarians. The writer has been complaining about a cover-up both sides of the Irish Sea for years.
The row over pig health and the impact on human health in both Britain and Ireland is going to be amazing, with the veterinary profession in both countries in the dock.
By the way, the abstract is dated 8th May, but available today on The Irish Veterinary Journal, here.
Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E virus infection in the Irish pig population
Michael O'Connor*, Sarah-Jayne Roche and Dónal Sammin
" *Corresponding author: Michael O'Connor
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Irish Veterinary Journal 2015, 68:8 doi:10.1186/s13620-015-0036-3
Published: 8 May 2015
Abstract (provisional)
Background
Hepatitis E is an acute viral disease of humans, occurring in explosive outbreaks in the developing world and as sporadic cases in returning travellers. Increasing recognition of indigenous transmission in Western countries suggests a zoonotic source of infection, most likely pigs. To determine if hepatitis E virus is present in Irish pigs, sera from 330 animals were examined for antibodies using a commercially available ELISA. Findings Antibodies were detected in 89 pigs (27%) in 13 herds (81%).
Conclusions
Hepatitis E virus is present in most Irish pig herds and in many animals within these herds.
The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.
