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First detection of hepatitis E virus from urban Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) in the Republic of Korea - EurekAlert
Hepatitis E virus (HEV), an emerging zoonotic pathogen, poses a significant public health concern worldwide. Recently, rat HEV (<em>Rocahepevirus ratti</em> genotype C1; HEV-C1) has been reported to cause zoonotic infections and hepatitis in humans. Human infections with HEV-C1 are considered to be underestimated worldwide due to limited knowledge of transmission routes, genome epidemiology, and the risk assessment of zoonosis associated with these viruses. A total of 186 wild Norway rats (<em>Rattus norvegicus</em>) were collected from the Republic of Korea (ROK) between 2011 and 2021. The prevalence of HEV-C1 RNA was 8 of 180 (4.4%) by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. We first reported three nearly whole-genome sequences of HEV-C1 newly acquired from urban rats in the ROK. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that Korea-indigenous HEV-C1 formed an independent genetic group with those derived from <em>R. norvegicus</em> rats in other countries, indicating geographical and genetic diversity. Our findings provide critical insights into the molecular prevalence, genome epidemiology, and zoonotic potential of <em>Rocahepevirus</em>. This report raises awareness of the presence of <em>Rocahepevirus</em>-related hepatitis E among physicians in the ROK.
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