October 1, 2018.
In Hong Kong, a 56-year-old man contracted rat hepatitis E. This is the first time that such a disease has been transmitted to a human.
Hong Kong resident contracts rat hepatitis E
In the former British colony Hong Kong, there are more and more rats. In question: the heat and humidity which facilitate their proliferation. And for the first time in history, a disease which is, theoretically, developed only by rodents, has just been transmitted to a human being.
The University of Hong Kong recently shared this groundbreaking discovery: an inhabitant has contracted rat hepatitis E (HEV) in circumstances that have not yet been clarified. According to the researchers’ initial explanations, the 56-year-old patient would undoubtedly have consumed food infected with rat feces.
Hepatitis E in rats can lead to liver failure
This illness, a distant cousin of human hepatitis E, results in various symptoms such as fever, jaundice, vomiting. Eventually it manifests as liver failure, as in the case of this patient who had to undergo a liver transplant.
No one knows what the repercussions of such a discovery may be or whether this is just an isolated case. But for Hong Kong, this announcement sounds like an alarm signal, confirmed by the scientists who made this discovery and who claim that it is a discovery that has ” major significance for public health “.
Gaelle Latour
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