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A team of researchers from the University of Hong Kong discovered a more unusual case of hepatitis in 2018. Patient zero was identified in the person of a 56-year-old man who underwent a liver transplant. He had abnormal liver function, with no obvious cause. Negatively tested for the human hepatitis E (HEV) strain, new tests revealed that the human had been infected with a type of rat-borne hepatitis.
Rats infect people with a specific type of hepatitis, and no one knows how. In 2018, infectious disease experts from the University of Hong Kong encountered an unusual patient. Tests showed that his immune system responded to hepatitis E, but at the same time found the absence of the human strain of the virus in his blood.
Hepatitis E is a liver disease that can cause fever, jaundice, and an enlarged liver. The virus is found in four species of animals, but at the time, only one was known to infect humans. Since then, ten more people have been diagnosed with HEV, most recently last week when a 61-year-old man tested positive. In most cases, signs of rat infestation have been discovered in areas where people live.
The human strain of hepatitis E is usually transmitted by contaminating drinking water with feces, according to the World Health Organization. But the stress transmitted by the rat remains a mystery. No one knows exactly how the virus is transmitted from rats to humans. The researchers have published several theories, but none is conclusive.
The team of researchers and city authorities have tried since 2018 to better understand this new threat to health. However, there is some progress in diagnostic testing. Scientists are conducting new tests on rats to understand how transmission from rodents to humans occurs. But many are still unknown, such as the incubation period for the virus or the use of effective treatment. The medication used to cure the human strain had mixed results among the patients. Ignorance of the mode of transmission from the rat to humans makes efforts to prevent new infections a difficult mission.
Paradoxically, patients infected with the new strain of hepatitis come from areas with low risk of rat infestation. As the elimination of all rodents is not possible, the authorities urge the population to take preventive measures. The problem itself is not only in Hong Kong city, but it is also found in the main cities of the world. Infection of rats with HEV is a possible scenario because no one tests. The tests have not been widely adopted because no one has yet considered the virus to be a threat to humans.
The virus can have serious consequences for patients with low immunity. The vulnerable group may suffer long-term liver damage, scar tissue, or chronic hepatitis. In Europe, lack of physician awareness and poor diagnosis have led to underreporting of hepatitis E cases. Without any control measures, the virus can infect people worldwide and the risk is higher for communities than they face disease. pre-existing CNN reports, cited by Mediafax.
Publisher: A. D.
