Doctors have found another lethal disease that has jumped from rats into humans for the first time in history. While the first case was reported in 2018, there have been a sharp increase in the number of cases after the Coronavirus breakout during the last month.
Doctors have reported that it is because of the failing immune systems that humans are falling prey to this strange disease called Hepatitis E, also known as rat HEV.
For the first time in history, this virus has jumped from rats to humans
Symptoms of rat HEV are fever, jaundice and an enlarged liver.
When the doctors of Hong Kong University first discovered the symptoms of rat HEV in humans, they were so baffled that they thought it was a “one-off incident, one patient who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
But then dozens of cases have started popping again, which makes cause for worry. Doctors suspect that there could be hundreds of undiagnosed cases of rat HEV in humans.
Strange thing about this virus is that nobody knows why this is happening or how the virus is actually jumping from rats to humans.
Could it spread via contaminated water?
While the human HEV spreads via water when it’s contaminated by fecal matter. How the rat HEV spreads is still a mystery.
While contaminated water is one of the possibilities, but most patients with rat HEV were tested and they showed no trace of being infected via rat excrement.
Is there any treatment or cure?
The source of infection and route of infection is still unknown. We don’t know the incubation period for this virus – the time after which the infected person starts showing symptoms.
We have no treatment or cure for rat HEV, because the human HEV medicines don’t really work on it.
Are rats even directly involved? Many infected people had no contact with rats
Biggest mystery in front the scientists is that we don’t know how actually the rat HEV virus jumps from rats to humans, so we don’t know how to stop it.
It could be anyone’s guess that people living in rat-infested areas will be more prone to this disease, but many patients of this disease have also come from areas which have no rats at all.
“What we know is the rats in Hong Kong carry the virus, and we test the humans and find the virus. But how exactly it jumps between them — whether the rats contaminate our food, or there’s another animal involved, we don’t know. That’s the missing link.”
How can you keep yourself safe?
Perhaps the best chance of safety is to practice basic hygiene like washing your hands, keeping your food clean and covered, keeping your house free of pests and bugs.
Many people with rat HEV only experience mild symptoms, and in some cases don’t even know they’re infected.
But in people with a weak immune system, it could damage your liver and may cause your other organs to fail.
Doctors are worried that rat HEV may have already spread worldwide without any detection
Doctors are worried that rat HEV could very well be spread all over the world, even in cities like Paris and New York. But we don’t know because we are not testing for it.
And there are no safety measures, we don’t know why it happens and how it can be stopped. Elderly, sick, HIV-positive, and people with weak immune systems are at high risk for catching rat HEV.
Dr Shridhar of Hong Kong University said:
“This should not be happening. We need ongoing vigilance in the public to control this unusual infection. I really hope that public health authorities take the first step and look at how much their populations are actually being exposed to rat hepatitis E.”
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