New virus discovered in China - Langya henipavirus can cause kidney and liver failure
Created: 08/10/2022, 05:50
By: Victoria Krumbeck
Chuang Jen-hsiang is deputy director-general of the Taiwan Center for Disease Control.
© Daniel Ceng Shou-Yi/IMAGO
Researchers discovered a new type of virus in China.
Little is known about Langya henipavirus.
Transmissions between humans are not yet known.
Taipei - Things are not getting quiet around China at the moment.
After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, China conducted military maneuvers around Taiwan.
The situation between Taiwan and China remains tense.
Now researchers have found a new virus - the Langya henipavirus.
Human-to-human transmission is not yet known.
There is no test method yet.
New virus found in China - already 35 people infected
The Langya henipa virus has already been detected in 35 people.
This was confirmed to the Taipei Times
by deputy director general Chuang Jen-hsiang of the Taiwan Center for Disease Control (CDC)
.
A study was previously published in the
New England Journal of Medicine
.
The study found 35 people in the Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan who had contracted the Langya henipavirus.
Those affected suffer from typical symptoms of the disease.
All of those infected had a fever, and around half suffered from fatigue, coughing and loss of appetite.
There were also symptoms such as headaches, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting.
Liver failure occurred in 35 percent of those affected and kidney failure in eight percent.
Virus is probably transmitted by animals - test method is being developed
Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang said no human-to-human transmission of the virus had been reported so far.
Because Langya virus is a newly discovered virus, Taiwan's laboratories need to develop a standardized nucleic acid test method to identify the virus.
Chuang said the 35 patients in China do not have close contact with each other.
Contact tracing also showed no virus transmission among the family or other close contacts.
It suggests that human infections may thus be sporadic.
Unlike the coronavirus or monkeypox, which are transmitted from person to person.
Research has shown that two percent of goats tested and five percent of dogs tested were positive for Langya henipavirus.
Chuang further explained that test results from 25 wild animal species suggest the shrew may be a natural reservoir of Langya henipavirus.
The virus was detected in 27 percent of the mice.
The CDC will be working on the testing method and have yet to determine whether the virus can be transmitted between people.
(vk)
