New virus discovered in China - This is known so far about the Langya henipa virus
Created: 08/12/2022, 11:13 am
By: Julia Schöneseiffen
Researchers discovered a new type of virus in China.
This is known so far about the Langya henipavirus.
An overview.
Beijing – In China, 35 people have contracted a newly detected henipa virus.
In the provinces of Shangdong and Henan, the pathogens named Langya henipavirus (LayV) mainly affected farmers who had previously been in close contact with animals.
This was reported by a team of researchers from China, Singapore and Australia in the New England Journal of Medicine.
All known infections occurred between 2018 and 2021. All information about the Langya henipa virus at a glance.
Surname | Langya henipavirus |
|---|---|
origin | presumably of animal origin |
Typical symptoms of illness | Fever, tiredness, cough and muscle pain |
Langya henipavirus (LayV): How is the virus transmitted?
The virus is probably of animal origin and appears only sporadically in humans.
The researchers said no evidence of direct human-to-human transmission was found.
Unlike the coronavirus or monkeypox, which are transmitted from person to person.
A transfer of the virus from animals to humans is likely, i.e. a so-called zoonosis.
In tests on animals, the virus was mainly discovered in shrews, as the researchers around Wei Liu from the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology in Beijing report.
Langya henipavirus: what are the symptoms of the viral disease?
The Langya henipa virus, newly discovered in China, causes typical symptoms of the disease in those affected.
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.
Fever
fatigue
Cough
Muscle aches
loss of appetite
headache
nausea
Vomit
Consequences of the Langya henipa virus: Deaths are not known
In some of the patients, there were indications of liver and kidney damage in addition to the typical symptoms of the disease.
Deaths related to the virus have not yet been registered.
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Henipaviruses: causes of respiratory and nervous diseases
According to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) in Greifswald, infections with the henipaviruses were first recognized in the 1990s as the cause of diseases of the respiratory tract and nerves in humans and animals.
Henipaviruses include:
hendraviruses
nipah viruses
Hendravirus: First detected in horses in Australia
According to the FLI, hendraviruses were first proven to cause serious respiratory diseases in horses in Australia in 1994.
However, the natural hosts of the hendravirus are flying foxes.
So far, seven trainers and veterinarians have been infected through contact with affected horses.
Four of these infections were fatal.
Researchers discovered a new type of virus in China: the Langya henipa virus.
(Iconic image) © YNA/dpa
Nipah virus: infection of pigs in the late 1990s
The Nipah virus emerged in pigs in Malaysia and Singapore in the late 1990s, according to the FLI.
Several people became infected from pigs, although the natural hosts here are fruit bats.
More than 100 of those infected died of encephalitis.
Over a million pigs have been culled in Malaysia.
In Bangladesh and India, people are repeatedly infected with Nipah and there are also fatalities.
(dpa/jsch)
