Researchers from Cordoba have discovered rat hepatitis in humans
We are talking about rat hepatitis type E, it is caused by the virus Rocahepevirus ratti. The scale of the incidence is not completely clear, but studies have shown that about 100 new cases are registered in Spain every year, writes El Pais. Researchers from Cordoba have identified dozens of cases of human infection with rat hepatitis for the first time in the world, El Pais reports, citing scientists.
The first cases of infection
We are talking about rat hepatitis type E, first detected in humans in Hong Kong in 2018, the publication clarifies. The disease is caused by the virus Rocahepevirus ratti (RHEV).
Carriers of the virus among rats
According to scientists, about a third of the rats living in Spanish cities are carriers of this pathogen. So far, experts have no clear idea how the disease is transmitted from rodent to human. The scale of the incidence is also unclear, although studies show that about a hundred cases are registered in Spain every year, the newspaper notes.
"We are faced with an unknown new disease," Antonio Rivero Juarez, a researcher at the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute in Cordoba (Imibic), a hepatitis specialist, told El Pais.
He clarified that scientists are conducting research in several directions at once in order to obtain information about the true scale of the spread of the disease, as well as data on clinical cases and forms of manifestation of the disease. "There is a lot of work ahead of us," Rivero Juarez said.
A grant of €30,000 ($32.4 thousand) was allocated for the Imibic study. Hospitals and research centers from the UK, Sweden, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Turkey and Spain itself will take part in it, writes El Pais. The aim, in particular, will be to assess the incidence in these countries.
What is hepatitis? What does he look like?
Hepatitis is a group of inflammatory liver diseases. They can be caused by five infectious hepatitis viruses (A, B, C, D, E), as well as liver damage associated with poisoning, taking hepatotoxic drugs or diseases of other organs.
Hepatitis E is caused by the HEV virus. This is the only type of hepatitis that a person can get from an animal, including a rat. The virus is most often transmitted through fecal-contaminated water and unwashed hands, as well as through the consumption of contaminated foods: raw or poorly cooked pork, venison and shellfish.
Hepatitis E is the most common in the world. According to WHO estimates, about a third of all people on the planet suffer from it or have been ill. The acute phase of the disease is most often asymptomatic, except in rare cases.
History of rat hepatitis virus research
The rat hepatitis virus was first detected in 2010 in Germany. Initially, it was believed that it was not transmitted to humans, but in 2018, the first case of infection was registered in Hong Kong in a 56-year-old man who underwent a liver transplant.