Hepatitis E Virus In Uncooked Pork
It has been found by scientists that approximately 10% of all pork sausages consumed in the United Kingdom carry the Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) and it is acknowledged that 85% of all UK pigs carry the virus. Some sausages that have been found contaminated carry about 700,000 viruses per gram of sausage. The Hepatitis E Virus is dangerous to people as it could potentially result in acute liver failure and in pregnant women the effects of the virus could possibly lead to them catching fulminant hepatic fever which may affect both themselves and their child. Furthermore one in every five pregnant women who catches this virus is not expected to live. There were apparently 657 reported cases of the contraction of this virus through the consumption of pork in the United Kingdom in 2012, a figure that is approximately 40% higher than the previous year.
People with already weakened immune systems or deficient livers have the highest risks of contracting the viral infection. Excessive consumption and exposure to both recreational and medicinal drugs (e.g. Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Paracetamol) could lead to the degradation of the liver’s functionality so that it is eventually deficient therefore such drugs should be avoided.
Cases of contracting this specific virus from processed pork predominantly involve the consumption semi-raw pork products, most commonly sausages. It is not possible to check for the presence of the virus in the pork products consumed therefore it cannot be readily avoided in shops and supermarkets. High temperatures are crucial to kill the virus and from practical tests carried out by experts the virus was still able to survive an hour of cooking at 60°C. To eradicate the virus from the pork product (specifically pork sausages) it needs to be cooked for at least 25minutes at a minimum temperature of 70°C which is vastly greater than the average time a Briton takes to prepare their sausages. Hepatitis specialists warn that sausages are the ‘most dangerous pork product’ because they contain not only the liver meat of a pig, but also the animal’s intestine, which acts as a casing for the sausage meat.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural affairs says that as there is ‘increasing evidence’ supporting the theory of Hepatitis E being a food-borne infection therefore it is strongly recommended that the meat you consume should be sourced from non-intensive farms, be fresh and lastly cooked for the advised period of time.