The study by Ríos-Muñoz et al. (2023) identified the presence of rat hepatitis E virus (HEV) RNA in farmed pigs from Spain, suggesting that pigs may be susceptible to rat HEV and could serve as viral intermediaries between rodents and humans. The researchers sampled 387 pigs from five intensive breeding farms in Cordoba, Spain, and found that 44 pigs (11.4%) were positive for rat HEV RNA. The prevalence of HEV RNA was 1.6% among the positive pigs, all of which were from the same farm. The findings indicate that pigs could be a significant reservoir for rat HEV, potentially increasing the risk of zoonotic transmission to humans. The study highlights the need for further research to assess the role of pigs in the epidemiology of rat HEV and to evaluate the overall risk to public health in Europe.The study by Ríos-Muñoz et al. (2023) identified the presence of rat hepatitis E virus (HEV) RNA in farmed pigs from Spain, suggesting that pigs may be susceptible to rat HEV and could serve as viral intermediaries between rodents and humans. The researchers sampled 387 pigs from five intensive breeding farms in Cordoba, Spain, and found that 44 pigs (11.4%) were positive for rat HEV RNA. The prevalence of HEV RNA was 1.6% among the positive pigs, all of which were from the same farm. The findings indicate that pigs could be a significant reservoir for rat HEV, potentially increasing the risk of zoonotic transmission to humans. The study highlights the need for further research to assess the role of pigs in the epidemiology of rat HEV and to evaluate the overall risk to public health in Europe.