A strain of hepatitis E previously only observed in rats has been discovered in a man for the first time . A world from Hong Kong was diagnose with the shape last September , after receiving a liver organ transplant in May 2017 .
While other disease have antecedently passed from rodents to humans , this is the first time we have honor a liver disease exclusive to rats make the jump . A report on the finding will be print in a few month ' sentence in the journalEmerging Infectious Diseases . The field was led by Professor Yuen Kwok - yung and Dr Siddharth Sridhar from Hong Kong University .
In a press conference , account by theSouth China Morning Post , Professor Yuen state that this event can be visualize as a wake - up call for Hong Kong to improve its environmental hygiene and prevent this from happening again .
“ These kinds of strange infections , rarified infections , first instances – even one case is enough to make public wellness authorities and researcher very snappy about the implications , ” Dr Sridharstated .
“ We do n’t know if in future there will be a serious outbreak of the informer Hepatitis E computer virus in Hong Kong . We need to tight supervise this issue , ” tote up Professor Yuen .
It is unclear how the 56 - twelvemonth - old patient became infect with the disease . He may have eaten nutrient contaminated with infected rat droppings , or perhaps was bitten without realise . The investigator visited the patient role ’s home and reveal his flat tire was next to a refuse chute and that squealer could easily move between the two . trial showed that none of the rotter in the area were infect . However , a quick-frozen sampling from a rat compile there in 2012 indicates the presence of the disease .
The patient was put on a course of instruction of Virazole , a standard antiviral medication which is used in pillowcase of inveterate hepatitis E. He was clear up of the disease last March . A vaccinum to prevent the human version of hepatitis E has been developed in China but is yet to be made available elsewhere .
According to theWorld Health Organization , roughly 20 million people are infect with Hepatitis E every class , with about 44,000 deaths in 2015 . The virus is come up worldwide and is usually caught by boozing water pollute with the ordure of infected people .
[ H / T : South China Morning Post ]
