August 12, 2022, 10:00 PM
August 12, 2022, 10:00 PM
Since the beginning of the pandemic coronavirus, the population is concerned about the transmission of viruses from animals to humans. And indeed, cases of zoonotic viruses are on the rise. In early August 2022, researchers from the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine over a new henipavirus, detected in 35 patients between 2018 and 2021.
The researchers believe that the disease, which they named “Langya heniparivirus,” it was probably transmitted to humans through the shrew, a mouse-like mammal. Patients suffered from fever, fatigue, and cough, as well as anorexia, myalgia, and nausea.
The researchers said they saw no signs of person-to-person transmission.. Only those who have frequent and direct contact with shrews can be at risk of becoming infected. Almost all of the infected patients were farmers. from the Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan.
“The threat is not serious, as long as you are not in contact with the host species or an intermediate animal that is in contact with them (animals with the henipavirus),” James Wood, head of the department of Veterinary Medicine, told DW. from the University of Cambridge.
“However, the virus is closely related to others that have a high mortality rate in humans.so concern and caution are warranted,” Wood said.
Zoonotic diseases are common
Zoonotic diseases are very common: scientists estimate that more than 60 percent of known infectious diseases in people can be transmitted from other animals, which cause 75 percent of new or emerging infectious diseases in humans.
Most large-scale global outbreaks, such as the coronavirus, the ebolaMERS and Zika virus, have been caused by the spread of zoonotic viruses.
If human-to-human transmission with henipavirus were to be seen, it would be “very worrying,” said Jimmy Whitworth, an international public health expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Need more research
Nikolaos Vasilakis, an emerging infectious disease expert at the University of Texas, said zero person-to-person transmission and the sporadic nature of cases means there is little threat to the population.
However, Vasilakis said the data set was very small and more research and monitoring is needed: “If the sample proportion increases, maybe the results are not representative. We don’t know. It is very difficult to assess a limited number of samples without knowing the true extent of impact and presence in the human population.”
Viruses adapt by infecting new species
When viruses infect different species, they adapt to them. Although the investigation showed that “Langya henipavirus” was found mostly in shrews, it was also found in some dogs and goats.
Roth said the concern now is whether infection of other species could allow the virus to adapt to humans. That is, the virus changes its coupling protein and can adhere to a cell in the human body to infect it.
“It’s something that scientists will have to keep an eye on. It’s not certain that it will, but it’s a possibility,” said James Roth, director of the Center for Food Safety and Public Health at Iowa State University.
“Any time any of these emerging viruses are detected in the human population, it’s cause for concern,” Vasilakis said. “Not all of them will reach pandemic proportions. But initial detection should always be taken with due caution and alert level,” he added.
