Rats carry viruses that can cause a variety of infectious diseases, such as plague, leptospirosis, hantavirus, etc., which can be fatal in severe cases. In September 2018, Hong Kong detected the world’s first human case of rat hepatitis E virus infection, and a total of 17 human rat hepatitis E cases have been recorded so far. According to the Centre for Health Protection, human infection with rat hepatitis E may cause symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and jaundice; in rare cases, acute hepatitis E may cause fulminant hepatitis (acute liver failure) and death .
The exact route of transmission of rat hepatitis E infection in humans is unknown. The possible transmission routes include eating or drinking food or water contaminated by rodents or their excrement, and contact with the environment or objects contaminated by rodents or their excrement. Hepatitis E virus infection is mainly transmitted through the fecal-oral route.
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