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The infectious disease known as hepatitis E is common among people and causes up to 20 million cases of illness each year. What is new is rat hepatitis E, a disease detected in humans for the first time in 2018. Previously, it was believed that this liver disease affects only rats, but it turns out that it can also spread to humans. The last case was diagnosed at the end of April. The exact route of transmission of rat hepatitis E to humans is still unknown.
What is rat hepatitis E?
Rat hepatitis E is a disease typical of rats. Until now, specialists believed that the infection was transmitted precisely within this species – there were no confirmed cases of the disease in humans. The scientists’ view was verified in 2018 when rat hepatitis E was diagnosed in a Hong Kong patient. It was the first such case, and a dozen more have been found to date. In total, the virus causing rat hepatitis has so far been detected in 12 people worldwide (11 in Hong Kong, 1 in Canada). The latest case was diagnosed several days ago – on April 30, the disease was confirmed in a 61-year-old man from Hong Kong. Dr. Siddharth Sridhar, who studies the disease, told CNN that there could be hundreds of infected people that we do not know about.
Hepatitis E in rats is not the same as known to man hepatitis E (hepatitis E). Up to 20 million people get the disease known as hepatitis E each year. It is caused by the HEV virus, which is an RNA virus from the family Caliciviridae. The pathogen is most often transmitted through poor hygiene – infection usually occurs after eating contaminated food or water.
Read more: Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E information
As for the route of infection with rat hepatitis E, it is still unclear how the disease can spread to humans.
Rat hepatitis E transmission – how is it transmitted to humans?
The first human case of rat hepatitis E was diagnosed because a Hong Kong patient had previously undergone a liver transplant. When monitoring his condition, abnormalities in the functioning of the liver were detected. Other Hong Kong patients previously infected with rat hepatitis were also screened for pre-existing conditions or severe symptoms. The disease was also diagnosed in a Canadian who traveled to Africa and later came to the hospital with jaundice, nausea and hives.
Based on the collected data, scientists were ready to present theory about the probable transmission of rat hepatitis E. through surfaces contaminated by rodent faeces, but also through water and food. As it turned out, the newest patient from Hong Kong with zoonotic hepatitis did not come into contact with rats, did not live near their habitats, did not travel, and his relatives were healthy.
Due to insufficient knowledge about the possible route of transmission of the virus from rats to humans, researchers cannot conclusively state how the virus is transmitted. One possible theory is transmission of rat hepatitis E virus from rodents to other animals and then to humans.
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Hepatitis E from rats a global problem?
Although rat hepatitis E has so far only been detected in Hong Kong and Canada, microbiologist and researcher HKU Siddharth Sridhar believes the problem is much wider than meets the eye. This disease is not diagnosed in the world because it was previously believed that it did not affect humans. Its course may be mild and the symptoms are not very characteristic, therefore, according to the scientist, it cannot be ruled out that the infection affects hundreds or thousands of people worldwide.
Scientific knowledge on the subject rat hepatitis E in humans is limited, so the disease may pose a risk to people at risk, especially the elderly, with chronic diseases, immunosuppressed or HIV.
Also read:
- Why are zoonotic viruses dangerous to humans? Scientists explain
- Viral hepatitis – a disease that causes long-term health problems
- Vaccine against hepatitis A, B, C – when and what?