First detection of Hepatitis E virus (Rocahepevirus ratti) in French urban wastewater: Potential implications for human contamination

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is considered as an emerging zoonotic pathogen circulating in a wide range of animals. In recent decades, the genus Paslahepevirus frequently isolated in pigs were the most involved in human clinical practice. In addition, the genus Rocahepevirus have been isolated in rodents, and transmission to humans is increasingly reported worldwide, although gaps remain regarding the exposure factors. In this study, the presence of HEV was investigated in urban wastewater, swine slaughterhouse wastewater and river waters, in a geographical area where its circulation had previously been reported. In addition to the expected detection of Paslahepevirus in almost all waters samples collected, Rocahepevirus strains were detected with the same frequencies in urban and river waters, at concentrations up to 40-fold higher. No Rocahepeviruses were detected in swine slaughterhouse wastewater. This is the first study demonstrating the presence of Rocahepevirus in French wastewater. Although no evidence of transmission was reported among patients followed for a suspected HEV infection in the same area between April 2019 and October 2023 (i.e. 135/3078 serological tests positive for anti-HEV IgM detection; 46/822 blood samples positive for Paslahepevirus genome detection but none for Rocahepevirus), the circulation of Rocahepevirus in waters in such concentrations raises the question of the possible zoonotic transmission to human. Indeed, the waterborne transmission of HEV is now well documented in industrialized countries, and the exploration of the growing number of human infections in Europe involving Rocahepevirus has not until now made it possible to clarify the transmission routes.