Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a public health concern globally, causing acute viral hepatitis in humans. Genotype-3 HEV (HEV-3), the most frequently genotype detected in South America, is zoonotic and the main reservoirs are the domestic pig and wild boar. Circulation of HEV-3 in Argentina has been confirmed in humans as well as in pig herds, wild boar and environmental waters. However, data are scarce mainly due to the inaccessibility of serological assays in this country. In order to provide insights in the epidemiology of HEV in swine in Argentina, we developed an indirect ELISA based on the native recombinant protein ORF2 and conducted a serological survey to determine the prevalence of seropositive swine in small-scale pig farms in the central region of Argentina. The method was evaluated in a panel of 157 serum samples, resulting in relative sensitivity of 98.6 % (95 % CI 95 %−100 %) and relative specificity of 97.7 % (95 % CI 94 %−100 %) compared to a commercial test. An almost perfect agreement was obtained between the two tests (Kappa index of 0.961). A survey on 294 samples from 49 small-scale farms resulted in a seropositivity rate of 54 %. Seropositive animals were found in 34 out of 49 (69.4 %) farms. Most of the farms (70.6 %) had over 50 % of seropositive animals. The wide spreading of HEV in the swine population of Tandil, Argentina, underscore the need to better understand the epidemiology of HEV in the region, enabling the implementation of targeted interventions to mitigate the impact of this virus on public health.

戊型肝炎病毒（HEV）是全球公共卫生问题，可引起人类急性病毒性肝炎。基因型 3 HEV (HEV-3) 是南美洲最常见的基因型，是人畜共患的，主要宿主是家猪和野猪。在阿根廷，HEV-3 在人类以及猪群、野猪和环境水域中的传播已得到证实。然而，数据稀缺主要是由于该国无法进行血清学检测。为了深入了解阿根廷猪中HEV的流行病学，我们开发了一种基于天然重组蛋白ORF2的间接ELISA，并进行了血清学调查，以确定阿根廷中部地区小规模养猪场中血清阳性猪的流行情况。阿根廷。该方法在 157 个血清样本中进行了评估，与商业测试相比，相对灵敏度为 98.6 % (95 % CI 95 %−100 %)，相对特异性为 97.7 % (95 % CI 94 %−100 %) 。两次测试之间几乎完全一致（Kappa 指数为 0.961）。对来自 49 个小型农场的 294 个样本进行的调查显示，血清阳性率为 54%。49 个农场中有 34 个（69.4%）发现了血清反应阳性的动物。大多数农场 (70.6%) 的动物血清阳性率超过 50%。戊型肝炎病毒在阿根廷坦迪尔猪群中的广泛传播，凸显了需要更好地了解该地区戊型肝炎病毒的流行病学，从而能够实施有针对性的干预措施，以减轻该病毒对公共卫生的影响。