China News Service, Hong Kong, September 18-The Health Protection Center of the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government reported two cases of human hepatitis E infection in rats on the 17th and 18th, involving two men with chronic illnesses.

  The case notified on the 18th involved a 71-year-old man with a chronic illness.

When he returned to the Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, he found abnormal liver function.

The patient is now in stable condition and his blood sample has been tested positive for hepatitis E in rats.

The patient lived in Tuen Mun, had no contact with rodents or rats, and did not travel outside during the incubation period.

  The previous case reported on the 17th involved a 79-year-old man with a long-term illness. He had abdominal discomfort. He went to the Accident and Emergency Department of the Hong Kong United Christian Hospital on the 1st of this month and was admitted on the same day.

The patient had abnormal liver function during his stay in the hospital.

The patient was discharged from the hospital on 4, and his blood sample was tested positive to rat hepatitis E.

The patient lived in Lantian, had no contact with rodents or rats, and did not travel outside during the incubation period.

  A spokesperson for the Centre for Health Protection said that based on the existing epidemiological data, the source and route of the infection could not be determined for the two cases.

The center's investigation is still ongoing.

  The spokesperson said that the transmission route of human hepatitis E infection in rats is not yet clear.

Possible routes of transmission include eating or drinking food or water contaminated by rodents or their excrement, contact with the environment or objects contaminated by rodents or their excrement, and direct contact with rodents or their excrement.

The hepatitis E virus, which generally causes human infection, is mainly transmitted through the fecal-oral route.

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