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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Hepatitis E transmitted by rats, caused by the Rocahepevirus ratti virus, was recently detected in Spain where the number of cases is believed to be the highest since the discovery of the disease in Hong Kong in 2018. How is the virus transmitted? Should we be worried? The opinion of our expert, Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo.
Discovered in rats in 2010 in Germany, then observed for the first time in humans in 2018 in Hong Kong, rat hepatitis E was recently noted in Barcelona. Faced with the lack of information concerning this disease derived from hepatitis E, researchers are trying to better understand its prevalence as well as its mode of transmission.
An unprecedented series of rat hepatitis E cases in Spain
Researchers in Córdoba discovered that dozens of patients carried a mysterious virus: rat hepatitis E. If the virus Rocahepevirus ratti (RHEV) is not new, This series of cases in Spain is the first of such magnitude in the world.
This worrying discovery was reported at the recent congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) taking place in Barcelona. After analyzing samples from around 250 patients with acute hepatitis of unknown origin from 10 different hospitals, researchers have so far detected a total of forty cases in Spain. A figure that increases as research progresses.
Prof. Rivero Juárez, specialized in hepatitis at the Maimónides Biomedical Research Institute of Córdoba (Imibic), specifies that the new patients come from various regions of Spain, such as Andalusia, Galicia, Navarra and Catalonia. “This suggests that the virus is present in a large part of the country” he adds.
Córdoba researchers are also studying the presence of the virus in rats. To do this, they analyzed samples from more than 1,000 animals from all over Spain and found that around 30% of them carry the virus.
Faced with these figures, scientists are wondering how this mysterious disease is transmitted to humans.
Modes of transmission still unknown
The mode of transmission of this disease remains mysterious to this day. However, because Rocahepevirus ratti (RHEV) infections are similar to those of hepatitis E, they have some leads.
- First hypothesis: “Animals excrete the virus in their feces and urine. They then contaminate the surfaces with which humans come into contact, or the food they consume. explains Spanish researcher Rivero Juárez.
- Second possibility: another animal species acts as an asymptomatic intermediate host. As with hepatitis E, pigs would be the main animal suspected. “Infections would then occur when an individual consumes products made from the animal, which have not been subjected to treatments of sufficient intensity to eliminate hepatitis E”specifies the researcher.
According to scientists, it is not excluded that the virus is present in other countries. They emphasize that “If it has not been diagnosed elsewhere until now, it is because there have not been studies using precise diagnostic techniques in other countries”. So it’s very likely that the disease is actually as widespread around the world as rodents are.
As the Olympic Games approach, which will bring together millions of people this summer in Paris, is there a greater risk of contamination? Should we be worried when we know the large number of rats in the capital?
2024 Olympic Games: should we be worried about the spread of hepatitis E in rats?
According to Doctor Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo, “the symptoms of this disease are similar to those of hepatitis A: moderate fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal and/or joint pain, a more sensitive liver and possible yellowing of the skin“. However, she “does not cause serious risks or progression to chronicity”. The expert adds: “In a healthy individual, it’s a disease that can be treated quite quickly. So there’s actually no big reason to worry.” he specifies.
To avoid being contaminated as much as possible, Doctor Kierzek reminds us that it is important to respect good hygiene practices: we wash our hands regularly, especially after being in contact with waste, and we do not consume water whose purity is uncertain.