Hong Kong’s had records to be proud of — like the tallest revolving door, or the busiest airport for cargo, or the longest paper chain made in under an hour.
This is not necessarily one of them.
In what is believed to be a world first, a 56-year-old liver transplant patient has been infected with a strain of hepatitis E that was previously present only in rats, according to HK01.
The man, according to RTHK, lives at Choi Wan Estate and his flat is close to a refuse room infested with rats.
He received a liver transplant at Queen Mary Hospital last year, but continued having problems following the operation suggesting an issue with his liver graft, wrote Ming Pao.
A study, led by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and Dr Siddharth Sridhar from the university’s department of microbiology, analyzed the strain of hepatitis E affecting the patient and found it the type found in rats.
The finding is important as the genetic makeup of hepatitis E strains found in rats and humans differ greatly. It was previously unknown that the virus could infect humans.
A press briefing is scheduled this afternoon to reveal more details of the case.
According to the SCMP, the man’s housing estate showed signs of rat infestation in the bins outside his home, though noted the man hadn’t seen rodents inside his flat.
He had, however, seen rat droppings, which researchers believe could have contaminated food.
Tests on rats, rodent droppings and swab samples areas at the flat, though, tested negative for rat hepatitis E.
Researchers were yet to identity clearly the transmission point, the SCMP wrote.
It added the patient was treated with an oral medication known as ribavirin and is recovering.
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