During 2018, a team of infectious disease researchers from the University of Hong Kong (UHK) detected an unusual patient.
This was a 56-year-old man who had undergone a liver transplant and exhibited abnormal liver functions without apparent cause.
Analyzes indicated that her immune system was responding to the Hepatitis E; however they could not find a human strain of the hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the individual’s blood.
Hepatitis E is a liver disease that can also cause fever, jaundice, and an enlarged liver. The virus comes in four species, which circulate in different animals; At the time, only one of these four was known to infect humans.
An ad for rat poison in an alley in Hong Kong in November 2018.
Hepatitis E in human
Using negative diagnostic tests for the human strain of HEV, the scientists created a diagnostic test, which revealed that for the first time in history, the transmission of rat hepatitis E in a human.
Dr Siddharth Sridhar, a UHK researcher and microbiologist said in a statement:
“Suddenly, we have a virus that can jump from street rats to humans. It was such an unusual and unprecedented infection that the team wondered if it was a single incident, a patient who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. ”
However, it happened again, and then again.
Since that first study, 10 other people have tested positive for rat hepatitis E, called rat HEV.
The most recent case just a week ago, a 61-year-old man with abnormal liver function tested positive on April 30; however there could be hundreds more people who have so far not been diagnosed, Sridhar said.
A possible cause of the transmission of hepatitis E to humans has been found, and this would be through drinking water, according to the World Health Organization.
No one knows how people get infected
Credit parcogg / Pixabay
The new strain of the rat brings with it a mystery: Until now it is not known exactly how people are becoming infected.
Since its discovery two years ago, researchers have failed to identify the precise route of transmission from rats to humans. Theories exist, some relate this to contaminated water as the usual human strain, or by manipulating contaminated objects, but nothing has been definitively proven.
There is a peculiarity, the most recent infected patient, 61, has the authorities particularly puzzled, since there were no rat droppings in the home, and no other member of his home has shown symptoms and has no history of recent travel.
The Center for Health Protection of Hong Kong said in a statement on April 30:
“Until now, the man is still in the hospital and the investigation is ongoing.”
Investigations carried out
Authorities and researchers have been trying to understand this new health threat since 2018. So far, they have made some progress, including improving testing and testing on rats across the city to try to identify groups that can jump on humans. This has revealed how many rodents in the city carry HEV from rats.
However, there are many unknown things. It is not known how long the virus incubation period lasts, that is, how long it takes for patients to become ill after exposure. A treatment is still being sought, because the drug used to treat human hepatitis E has had less than positive results.
And the main unknown that continues to haunt the heads of researchers is how it is transmitted to humans.
And, of course, the biggest question that still bothers scientists is how.
Sridhar said in a statement:
“What we know is that rats in Hong Kong carry the virus, and we tested humans and found the virus. But how exactly it jumps between them, whether the rats contaminate our food or another animal is involved, we don’t know. That is the missing link. ”
Getting rid of all the rats in Hong Kong has been proposed as a solution, however eradicating them completely is a long and complicated “feat” not very feasible.
For now, authorities are urging people to take preventative measures, such as washing hands before eating, storing food properly or in the refrigerator, and keeping the house clean and disinfected to prevent nesting of rodents.
An infection that could be popping up everywhere
Credit: Simon / Pixabay
Researchers believe that HEV may be infecting people elsewhere of the world, like New York or Paris, and until now it is unknown since nobody is analyzing it.
Sridhar said:
“My feeling is that this has been going on for a long time. 2017, 2018 is definitely not the first time in the world. “
The 11 confirmed cases in Hong Kong are likely just the tip of the iceberg, Sridhar said. There could be hundreds of other cases in the community. Also, many people infected with hepatitis E only experience mild symptoms and sometimes don’t even know they are infected.
However, the virus causes serious health consequences, mainly in patients with weakened immunity. Vulnerable people can suffer long-term liver damage or tissue scarring.
One case has been confirmed worldwide so far, and it happened in Canada, it is a man who had come from Africa.
The only reason authorities detected this case was because they used a broad type of test that detects many strands of the hepatitis E virus, the researchers said in the report, which was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Without such an examination, “the diagnosis could have been lost,” the report said.
We are facing a serious problem, many countries are not testing for HEV in rats, Sridhar said. A specialized test is needed to look for the rat HEV in humans.
Currently the world is practically busy with the COVID-19 pandemic or new coronavirus. So a new hit like rat hepatitis E represents could sneak in and start a new outbreak in many countries. Until recently, nobody thought that HEV was a threat to humans.
The scientific study has been published in Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Source: CNN
