Langya henipavirus: New virus discovered in China may be ‘tip of iceberg’ of undiscovered pathogens, researchers say

However, researchers say there is no evidence that the rangya virus is spreading among people or that it has caused localized outbreaks of related cases. To do so, further studies on a larger subset of patients are needed, they added.

To reduce the risk of the emerging virus becoming a health crisis, “implementing active surveillance in a transparent and internationally collaborative manner is absolutely necessary,” said a professor at Duke National University Singapore Medical School. Mr Wang said.

new virus tracking

The first clue to the existence of the new virus emerged in December 2018 when a 53-year-old farmer was treated at a hospital in Qingdao, Shandong Province, for symptoms including fever, headache, cough and nausea. researcher.

Because the patient demonstrated contact with animals within the past month, he was enrolled in additional screening focused on identifying zoonotic diseases conducted at three hospitals in eastern China.

When examining the patient’s test samples, scientists discovered something unexpected. It was a never-before-seen virus related to the Hendra and Nipah viruses. These viruses are usually highly lethal pathogens belonging to families not known for their poor human-to-human transmission.

Over the next 32 months, researchers at three hospitals screened similar patients for the virus, eventually screening it in 35 people who had fever plus a variety of other symptoms, including cough, fatigue, headache, and nausea. detected.

Nine of these patients were also infected with known viruses, such as influenza, so the cause of their symptoms was unknown, while the symptoms in the remaining 26 may have been caused by a new henipavirus. thinks the researchers.

Wang said some patients had severe symptoms, such as pneumonia and abnormal thrombocytopenia, that were far removed from those seen in Hendra and Nipah’s patients. No one in the group died or was admitted to the ICU. All recovered but were not being monitored for long-term problems, he added.

Of that group of 26 people, all but four were farmers, some were reported by the same hospital as the first detected cases, while many others were 700 kilometers (435 miles) away. It was found in Xinyang, Henan Province.

Similar viruses are known to circulate in animals from southwestern China to South Korea, so it’s “not surprising” that it spread to humans over such a long distance, Wang explained. did.

Wang and his colleagues wrote in their findings that there was no “close contact or common exposure history among patients” or evidence of spread from one person to another. They said it was sporadic, but more research was needed.

After learning that the new virus is infecting people, Beijing-based scientists and researchers, including the Qingdao disease control authority, will see if they can reveal what is infecting patients. They examined the domesticated animals that the patients lived in for signs of past infection with the virus, and identified a small number of goats and dogs that may have previously been infected with the virus. I found

But the real breakthrough came when they tested samples taken from small wild animals caught in traps: 71 infections were found in two shrew species, and scientists found these tiny rodents It suggests that mammals like genus may be a natural place for the virus to circulate.

What’s unclear is how the virus got into people, Wang said.

He said further research screenings for Langya henipaviruses should follow and be conducted more widely in China and beyond, not just in the two provinces where the virus was found.

China’s National Health Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether surveillance for new infections of the virus was underway.

risk reduction

China has seen large outbreaks of emerging viruses in the last two decades, including SARS in 2002-2003 and Covid-19. All of these are the first cases detected in Japan and are caused by viruses thought to originate in bats.

The devastating impact of both diseases, especially Covid-19, which has killed more than 6.4 million people worldwide so far, highlights the importance of quickly identifying new virus cases and sharing information about potential risks. showing gender.

Scientists not involved in the new study agree that more research is needed to understand the rangyavirus and confirm the latest findings, and that the findings suggest which virus is transmitted from animals to humans. He emphasized the importance of tracking possible spread.

“Since this (new henipavirus) may not be endemic only in China, please share this information so others can prepare in their own countries or do further research. is important,” said Poon from Hong Kong.

Scientists say key questions need to be answered how widespread the new virus is in nature, how it leaks into people and how dangerous it is to human health – the potential for it to spread among people or acquire this ability if it continues to jump from animals to humans. Includes gender.

Malik Peiris, also a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, said the geographic range of where the infections were found “suggests that this risk of infection is fairly widespread,” confirming the geographic range. It is important to study other parts of China and neighboring countries to do so, he added. of this virus in animals (shrews) and humans. ”

He also added that the latest findings suggest that there are a number of undiscovered wildlife-to-human transmissions occurring, and that not only this virus, but also wildlife-borne viruses are likely to cause human infections. He said it suggested the need for systematic research to understand the big picture.

“This is important not to notice if the next pandemic will come, but when it will occur,” he said.