Pigs may transmit rat hepatitis E to humans.

• Rat HEV, a strain common in rats, has been found to infect humans.
• The first human case was reported in Hong Kong in 2018, with at least 20 cases reported.
• The cause of infection is unknown, but consumption of raw pork is often suspected.
• Researchers found a rat HEV strain isolated from humans could infect pigs and spread among co-housed animals in farm-like conditions.
• Rats are common pests in swine barns, suggesting the pork production industry could be a potential route for rat HEV.
• Researchers constructed an infectious clone of LCK-3110, a strain linked to human disease.
• After pigs were injected with an infectious solution containing the LCK-3110 strain or another HEV strain, viral particles were detected in blood and feces.
• Two weeks later, co-housed pigs began to shed rat HEV virus in their feces, indicating the virus had spread through the fecal-oral route.