A second case of rat hepatitis E has been reported in a human in Hong Kong, making it also the second recorded globally.

Axar.az reports citing CNN.

A 70-year-old woman from the Wong Tai Sin district of Hong Kong was diagnosed with the disease this month, according to Hong Kong's Department of Health. She does not recall having direct contact with rodents or their excreta (feces and bodily fluids) and didn't notice any rodents in her residence, the Department of Health said in a statement.

The woman was admitted to a public hospital on May 4, 2017, for headache, anorexia, malaise, abdominal pain and palpitations, which she had developed since May 1, 2017.

She soon recovered and was discharged four days later, on May 8. The woman had underlying illnesses, according to the Department of Health.

In September, the first case was reported, involving a 56-year old man. Before this, it was not known that the disease could be passed from rats to humans.

After that case, the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health provided blood samples from patients who had tested positive for immune protein called anti-HEV immunoglobulin -- a sign someone is infected with hepatitis E, known as HEV. Further investigations by Hong Kong University detected elements of DNA evident of rat HEV.

This is how the new case of the 70-year-old woman was identified.

Hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver, with various viruses that cause it. Most commonly, hepatitis A, B and C spread through contaminated food and water or blood and other body fluids, depending on the virus.

The human form of hepatitis E is typically transmitted through contaminated water and is estimated to infect 20 million people worldwide, resulting in 3.3 million people showing symptoms each year, according to the World Health Organization. It caused approximately 44,000 deaths in 2015, making up 3.3% of all deaths from viral hepatitis.

The animal form of the disease is thought to infect wild boars, domestic pigs and deer, as well as rats and other rodents.