Detection of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in wastewater from irrigated farms in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes acute or fulminant hepatitis in humans through dietary, zoonotic, and waterborne transmission by the contamination of water resources. This study aimed to show the presence of HEV in the environment, particularly in wastewater from irrigated farms in the city of Ouagadougou. A total of 80 wastewater samples were collected from three urban market garden sites and one peri-urban site in Ouagadougou, that's Boulmiougou, Silmandé, Tanghin, and Loumbila. Samples were processed for HEV RNA detection by RT-nested PCR with specific primers. From all the samples, 14 (17.50%) [CI95, 9.17 - 25.83%] were positive by RT-PCR. Six (12.5%) of the 48 samples from Loumbila were positive for HEV, while 6 (35.3%) and 2 (20%) of the 17 samples from Boulmiougou and 10 samples from Tanghin, respectively, were positive for HEV. All positive samples were found in market gardening areas near livestock farming areas. The results suggest the presence of HEV environment specifically in wastewater used in the irrigation of vegetable crops. This is a potential source of contamination for market garden produce. These results underline the need for scrupulous compliance with good agricultural and hygienic practices in market gardening.