Cat Que virus is not new and ICMR research was “aggressive”

Look closely Culex mosquito. Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim / Wikimedia Commons, GNU FDL 1.2.

New Delhi: Some media outlets recently published a sensational report on research conducted by scientists (Indian Medical Research Council) in 2017 and 2018, published in June this year, with yet another virus. He said it could cause a new pandemic.

However, the tone and nature of reportage contrasts with the research itself conducted in advance to develop diagnostic tests, from what is called “another virus from China” to ICMR, which clearly issues an “alarm.” is. Against the virus. (The paper itself does not contain the words “alarm” or “warning”.)

of Research paper Titled “Preventive Preparation for CatQue Virus: Orthovenya Virus Existing in India” Indian Journal of Medical Research.. Indicates the presence of Cat Que virus (CQV) Culex Mosquitoes and pigs have been reported from China and Vietnam.Since then Culex Mosquitoes are widespread in India, researchers have determined that “it is necessary to understand the replication dynamics of this virus in mosquito models.”

In addition, “as part of the preparation and to identify the presence of CQV in humans and pigs,” they wrote that they undertook their research to “develop a diagnostic test.”

CQV is a virus of the genus Orthobunya virus, with 49 species and 19 serotype complexes. CQV itself belongs to the “Simbu” serotype. This genus includes arboviruses that infect both humans and economically important livestock varieties. Humans can become infected with this genus of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. They include the Cache Valley virus that causes meningitis. Lacrosse virus that causes childhood encephalitis. The guaroa virus causes fever (ie, fever-related) illnesses.

CQV was reportedly first isolated from mosquitoes in Vietnam in 2004 (Cát Quế is the name of a location near Hanoi in northern Vietnam). The authors write that the virus isolated from Jungle Myna in Karnataka in 1961 was identified as CQV in 2016. Studies have established the role of mosquitoes as vectors of the virus, but they also play the role of birds as hosts. Or vector – was not documented.

The authors then set out to study the susceptibility of three mosquito viruses to human and porcine infections. Pigs are the major mammalian host of the virus and, among other studies, among others. One in 2005..Author of 2015 paper“CQVs may form a natural cycle in local mosquitoes and pigs and may be associated with human and animal diseases,” they said in response to a study conducted in China. I interpreted it.

To cite a long quote from an ICMR paper:

The availability of vectors, primary mammalian hosts (pigs), and confirmation of CQV from Jungle myna show this possibility. [virus] As a public health pathogen in India. This led to the development of molecular and serological testing of CQV, screening of host populations (humans and pigs), and its replication dynamics in mosquitoes as part of preparation for the potential emergence of CQV.

Data show that Indian mosquitoes are … susceptible to CQV. … Therefore, mosquitoes have been found to be potential vectors of CQV infection to mammalian hosts. The diagnostic assay developed during this study can be used for rapid detection of CQV as part of alertness to future CQV development.

These three species of mosquitoes Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus And Culex tritaenior hynchus.. “Real-time data show that CQV grew in all three mosquitoes 12 days after infection,” the newspaper said.

The authors collected serological and molecular samples from 1,020 people who reported acute febrile illness between 2014 and 2017. These diseases cause fever that lasts for more than a week and is the result of an unidentified infection. These samples were tested for the presence of CQV using a real-time RT-PCR test and were all found to be negative.

At the same time, scientists also collected 883 samples to test antibodies against CQV. Of these, two in Karnataka were positive.

The RT-PCR test looks for fragments of the viral gene in a particular sample. Tests that check for antibodies are more indirect in that they suggest the presence of the virus based on the host’s response to it.

The authors of the ICMR study show that the presence of CQV antibodies in human serum samples and the ability of CQV replication in mosquitoes “may cause potential disease” of the virus in the Indian scenario. Suggests. “Screening of more human and porcine serum samples using these assays [a procedure to determine the presence of a virus] It is needed as a precautionary measure to understand the spread of this neglected tropical virus, “they write.

Scientists also acknowledged some limitations of their study, including the fact that sufficient positive serum samples were not available. As a result, they were unable to perform virus neutralization tests that would determine the specificity of the virus. “To further enhance the results of the study, we need to screen more human and porcine samples,” they concluded.

According to them, the diagnostic tools developed in this study may help detect CQV in human and porcine populations in the future.

Article DNA india ICMR scientists “discovered” the virus and claimed that the discovery of the study was a “warning.” A Hindustan Times According to the headline, the virus could be a “pandemic in India” (by definition, a pandemic is characterized by outbreaks in multiple geographic regions).Article Wion Launched “New Virus Discovered in China”.

All these and other articles report ICMR findings along with the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.Indeed, scientists have already reported what they are expecting Climate change Effect with Industrialization And Urbanization It may cause more pandemics in the future.And Hyper connectivity, Economic inequality And unsustainable rate Extraction of resources It can exacerbate their effects.

However, the sensational reports of scientists trying to understand and prepare for future events mistakenly increase the sense of danger, cause more panic and anxiety, to China, and more broadly to Southeast Asian countries. May give a divisive story.