Hepatitis E in Norway: seroprevalence in humans and swine.

In Norway, no published data on seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in humans and swine exists. Serum samples from blood donors, veterinarians, swine farm workers and swine were analysed by ELISA to estimate the seroprevalence of HEV in Norway and to investigate the association between direct contact with swine and HEV seroprevalence in humans. The seroprevalence of HEV IgG antibodies was 30% (24/79) in farm workers, 13% (21/163) in veterinarians, 14% (162/1200) in blood donors and 90% (137/153) in swine. Our results show a high seroprevalence of HEV in humans and swine in Norway. HEV seroprevalence in farm workers and blood donors increased with age, and veterinarians working with swine were twice as likely to be HEV seropositive compared to other veterinarians. High HEV seroprevalence in farm workers and veterinarians working with swine support previous reports suggesting swine as a reservoir for HEV infections in humans in Europe.

Caprine CSN1S1 haplotype effect on gene expression and milk composition measured by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

The Norwegian dairy goat population has a high frequency of a CSN1S1 (alphaS1-casein) haplotype with negative effects on protein and fat content. It is characterized by a single point deletion in exon 12 of CSN1S1, leading to a truncated protein and hence a low content of alphaS1-casein in the milk. This haplotype together with another haplotype with a deletion in exon 9 are called "weak" haplotypes. "Strong" haplotypes, on the other hand, have positive effects on important milk production traits. We show that expression of CSN1S1 in the mammary gland of lactating goats is significantly lower in animals with 2 weak haplotypes. Moreover, the effects of defective alleles were not detected in animals having 1 strong and 1 weak haplotype. Expression levels of other genes in the casein cluster were not affected by the CSN1S1 haplotypes investigated. Milk samples from goats with 2 weak haplotypes could be distinguished from the other milk samples using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The PLS-DA components were related to spectra of pure caseins and whey proteins, hence FTIR has a potential for identifying milk samples with low alphaS1-casein content and different protein composition. The results indicate that FTIR-based measurements can be incorporated into breeding plans, or for selection of milk samples with high casein content, which in turn may improve cheese-making properties of the milk.