Immunologist Kryuchkov: rat hepatitis E will not become a pandemic infection
The rat hepatitis E virus, which has begun to be transmitted to humans, will not cause a new pandemic, immunologist Nikolai Kryuchkov said in a conversation with Lenta.ru. According to him, in the worst case, it will become another human elementary hepatitis virus.
“This pathogen is relatively new to humans; the first case of infection was identified in 2010. In Europe, it is now registered regularly, much less frequently than classic hepatitis E, but it still occurs,” said the immunologist.
He noted that at the moment it is not known exactly how the virus is transmitted. But, most likely, this happens as a result of human contact with the waste products of rodents. At the same time, according to Kryuchkov, in most cases people carry the virus either asymptomatically or with few symptoms.
“There is also no significant evidence about the presence of chronic forms. The acute phase lasts for several weeks with a favorable outcome; I have not heard of fatal cases of infection with rat hepatitis E. This is not a pandemic infection. It is similar to ordinary hepatitis E, which, relative to other hepatitis, is quite mild. Yes, sometimes there are deaths there, but at the population level this is not a very serious infection,” concluded Kryuchkov.
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It was previously reported that Spanish researchers have identified dozens of cases of a new and mysterious disease – rat hepatitis E virus (Rocahepevirus ratti). This virus was first discovered in Germany in 2010. For a long time it was believed that a person could not become infected with it.
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