A new zoonosis has been discovered in China. That is an infection that can jump from an animal reservoir to humans, such as Covid-19. She was given the name Langya and there are now 35 known cases. According to virologist Marc Van Ranst, new viruses are regularly discovered and it remains to be seen how serious this is.
According to a report titled ‘A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China’ in the influential medical journal ‘The New England Journal of Medicine‘ it concerns a new henipa virus, the best known of which are the Nipah virus and the Hendra virus. The first virus in particular has a bad reputation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the death rate in the incurable Nipah is 40 to 75 percent.
Patients with Langya developed a diverse range of symptoms, such as fever (100 percent of patients), fatigue (54 percent), cough (50 percent), loss of appetite (50 percent), muscle aches (46 percent), nausea (38 percent) , headache (35 percent) and vomiting (35 percent).
liver failure
There was also a decrease in white blood cell counts in 54 percent of the patients, low platelet counts in 35 percent, liver failure in 35 percent, and kidney failure in 8 percent. Among the 35 patients – all discovered in the eastern Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan – 26 had no underlying conditions of any kind.
No human-to-human transmission has yet been reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Taiwan. Director General Chuang Jen-hsiang told the Taipei Times. The patients had no close contact with each other or possible joint exposure.
Contact tracing also revealed no infections in close contacts and relatives. That could indicate sporadic infections, but the CDC has yet to find out whether the virus can be transmitted from person to person or not. Until that is clear, people are urged to be careful.
shrew
A test on 25 species of wild animals points to the shrew as a possible reservoir for the new virus. The virus was found in 27 percent of the shrews tested.
According to virologist Marc Van Ranst, there are currently only reported cases in China and no one has died. “Patients have a flu-like syndrome with impaired kidney and liver function,” he says.
Seriously?
According to him, new viruses are regularly discovered. Usually they are zoonoses. Is this serious? “That remains to be seen. 35 cases is little. And we have no idea about asymptomatic infections yet.”
Van Ranst’s lab is already developing a specific PCR test.
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