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Genotype 3 of hepatitis E virus (HEV-3) is the most common in Europe in both humans and pigs. HEV-3 strains are zoonotic, and foodborne cases associated with consumption of raw and undercooked pork products, mainly liver sausages, have been described. HEV-3 circulates largely in European pig farms, maybe due to its long persistence in the environment. Animals get infected around 3–4 months of age; shortly after, the infection starts to decline up to the age of slaughtering (8–9 months of age in Italy). With the purpose to understand the duration in farmed pigs of the shedding of the virus and its quantity, HEV-RNA detection was performed by Real-time RT-PCR from feces collected individually from two groups of 23 pigs. Sampling was conducted for 4 months shortly before slaughtering age. At 4-months-old, all animals were shedding HEV-3 to high load around 105 genome copies per gram (GC/g). Prevalence was higher in growers than in fatteners, with most of the pigs still positive around 166 days of age. Beyond some difference among individual pigs, the amount of HEV in feces decreased with the age of animals. The longest fattening period should ensure a lower risk of HEV shedder animals at slaughter, reducing the risk of food contamination.

People with some occupational or recreational activities, such as hunters and veterinarians, may have increased risk to be infected by the hepatitis E virus (HEV). The aim of the present study was to establish whether forestry workers could be considered at a higher risk of HEV infection than a control group. One hundred and fifty sera from forestry workers and a control group of 85 sera were analysed by anti-HEV IgG antibodies detection using a commercial ELISA kit. The anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence was 14% for forestry workers and 9.4% for the control group. Comparing the risk of HEV infection in the two groups, there was no difference in the odds ratio. However, the seroprevalence in older subjects was higher in the forestry workers than in the control group. Two sera from forestry workers were also positive for anti-HEV IgM, and, in one of them, HEV-RNA was detected. Our findings showed an increase of seroprevalence with age, which is likely to reflect cumulative exposure to HEV over time. The occupation of forestry workers did not seem to be associated with a higher risk of HEV infection. The study provided new insights into the risk of acquiring HEV in occupational exposure workers with open-air activities.