New research suggests that pigs may function as a transmission vehicle for a strain of the hepatitis E virus common in rats that has recently been found to infect humans.
The Rocahepevirus ratti strain is called “rat HEV” because rats are the primary reservoir of the virus. Since the first human case was reported in a person with a suppressed immune system in Hong Kong in 2018, at least 20 total human cases have been reported – including in people with normal immune function.
People infected with rat HEV did not report exposure to rats, leaving the cause of infection undefined. The suspected cause during other human HEV infections, in many cases, is consumption of raw pork – making it a potential route for rat HEV as well.
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[Source: National Hog Farmer 26 September 2024]