It is following a “sharp increase” in the number of cases of hepatitis E in Great Britain and Wales that the British health authorities have questioned. What was the reason for this outbreak of infections, knowing that the disease most often rages in countries where access to essential water supply, sanitation and hygiene and health services is limited.
While only 123 cases were recorded in 2003, 691 hepatitis E cases were recorded in 2013 and 461 cases in the first six months of 2014.
Hepatitis E: how is the virus transmitted
The hepatitis E virus is transmitted mainly through the oral fecal route due to fecal contamination of drinking water. But transmission is also through food, following the ingestion of products derived from infected animals. This is the case with the infection recorded in Britain.
“This virus is developing in herds of pigs in this country which are then processed into sausages and pork pies,” explains Professor Richard Tedder of University College London. According to the doctor, one in 100 sausages is likely to transmit hepatitis E. The only way to escape contamination by the virus is to cook the sausages until they caramelize.
In the vast majority of cases, the disease resolves spontaneously within 4 to 6 weeks. However, the symptoms are not trivial: fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue and sometimes jaundice.
Occasionally, a fulminant form of hepatitis E (acute liver failure) may develop and lead to death.