Already proven in neighboring country: Alongshan tick virus is spreading

Created: 2022-12-20 08:17

By: Kilian Bäuml

Many viruses are transmitted to humans by ticks.

Now there is another one, because the Alongshan virus is spreading in Europe.

Frankfurt – In Germany, borreliosis and FSME are the most well-known diseases that are transmitted by ticks.

But there are more.

Five years ago, Alongshan virus was discovered in China.

In recent years, the virus has apparently spread further to Europe through ticks.

Researchers from the University of Zurich have now also found the virus in ticks from Switzerland.

The researchers suspect that it has similarities to TBE and spreads in a similar way.

The team from the University of Zurich is conducting further investigations in order to be able to better assess the situation.

Alongshan virus: discovered in many ticks in Switzerland

When the Alongshan virus, also known as the ALS virus, was discovered in China in 2017, it was assigned to the flavivirus family.

The TBE viruses also belong to the same family.

The symptoms are similar to those of an infection with TBE, including above all

fever and headache.

Although the two viruses appear to be similar, no antibodies are formed during infection that also act against the other virus.

The ticks used were collected in different regions of Switzerland in 2021 and 2022.

The Alongshan virus was detected in numerous samples: "We were amazed that we were able to detect ALS viruses far more frequently in the tick samples than TBE viruses," says Cornel Fraefel, Director of the Institute of Virology in a statement from the University of Zurich.

Since the symptoms are similar to those of TBE, it cannot be ruled out that ALS is a previously unknown public health problem.

Alongshan virus: "Detection of ALS virus infections in blood samples from patients"

Ticks in Germany probably also carry the ALS virus, says Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit from the University of Hamburg.

In 2019 he was involved in a Finnish study looking at the ALS virus.

However, the researcher is calm about the spread of the ALS virus.

There is nothing to suggest that this is a new, acute event," he says.

The viruses have been in ticks for a long time and there has been no outbreak of the ALS virus.

So far, the ALS virus cannot be detected in human blood using test methods.

"Now that we have identified the new virus and published the complete viral genome sequence, our team is now developing a serological test to detect ALS virus infections in patient blood," says Fraefel.

Ticks are widespread in Europe.

(Iconic image) © F. Hecker/Imago

There is also no vaccine to protect against the ALS virus.

The researchers from Switzerland will now work with the national reference laboratory for tick-borne diseases and the Spiez laboratory to study the spread of the ALS virus more closely.

also read

Italian village with castle and palace is for sale for two million euros

READ

If you see wire on the door, stay away from your car

READ

Aircraft with hundreds of passengers in severe turbulence - video shows trail of destruction

READ

Monster wave tears dozens of bathers into the sea - several dead in South Africa

READ

Terrible drama shakes Great Britain: Four children break into the sea and die

READ

Fancy a voyage of discovery?

My space

Alongshan virus: TBE and Lyme disease are also transmitted by ticks

Many different pathogens can be spread by ticks, such as viruses, bacteria and parasites.

The tick-borne encephalitis virus, or TBE for short, is particularly well known in Central Europe.

The TBE virus, which is often transmitted by ticks, can cause inflammation of the brain and the lining of the brain and spinal cord.

It is now possible to be vaccinated against TBE, which the Federal Center for Health Education BZgA recommends for people who stay near risk areas for ticks.

Lyme disease is also a well-known disease caused by bacteria transmitted by ticks.

It is also called Lyme disease and varies in severity.

The disease most commonly affects the skin and nerves, but joints and the heart can also be affected, writes the BZgA.

(kiba/dpa)