A recent scientific study revealed the detection of 35 people infected with a new virus of animal origin of the Henipavirus type, known as “Langya”. Until now it is known that it is transmitted from animals to humans.
It has also been reported that none of the cases, reported in the provinces of Shandong (east) and Henan (center), are serious. This was reported by the official Global Times newspaper, citing an article published by Chinese and Singaporean scientists in the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most prestigious medical publications in the world.
How was the virus detected?
The virus, for which there are currently no vaccines or treatments, it was detected by swabs taken from the throat of patients who had recent contact with animals.
The first case was identified in late 2018 in a Shandong farmer and the others over the course of two years, according to the aforementioned medical publication.
What are the symptoms?
The study mentions symptoms such as fever, tiredness, cough, loss of appetite, headaches, muscle aches, and nausea. Subsequent investigations revealed that 26 of the 35 patients carrying this Henipavirus developed these clinical symptoms, to which irritability and vomiting were added.
These 26 patients presented with fever (100%), fatigue (54%), cough (50%), anorexia (50%), myalgia (46%), nausea (38%), headache (35%), and vomiting. (35%), accompanied by abnormalities of thrombocytopenia (35%), leukopenia (54%), and impaired liver (35%) and kidney (8%) function.
What is the origin?
According to the state news portal “The Paper”, the Henipavirus is one of the main emerging causes of the jump from animal diseases to humans (a process called zoonosis) in the Asia-Pacific region.
This medium indicates that One of the transmission vectors of the virus are fruit bats, considered natural hosts of two of the known Henipaviruses: Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV).
How is the virus transmitted?
Until now it is known that it is transmitted from animals to humans. The Global Times points out that person-to-person transmission has not been proven, although previous reports indicate that this type of contagion is not ruled out either.
“The coronavirus will not be the last contagious disease to cause a pandemic, as new diseases will have an increasing impact on the daily lives of the human race.”, declared the deputy director of the department of Infectious Pathologies of the Huashan hospital, affiliated with Fudan University (Shanghai), quoted by Efe.
In 2018, the WHO indicated that the Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus (transmitted mainly from animals to people, and sometimes also from person to person and through contaminated food). Following the recently published study on the Henipavirus, known as “Langya”, the WHO has not published a statement on its website so far.
