China reports discovery of new zoonotic “Langya” virus with 35 cases

China reports discovery of new zoonotic "Langya" virus with 35 cases

China reports discovery of new zoonotic "Langya" virus with 35 cases Credit: Dotted Yeti/Shutterstock.com

China has reported the discovery of a new zoonotic virus known as the “Langya” henipavirus, as reported on Tuesday, August 9.

China has reported the discovery of the Langya henipavirus,a new zoonotic virus, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, with 35 human infections reported so far, according to Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as reported by Taipei Times.

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study entitled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China” describing a new henipavirus associated with a fever-causing human illness, that has its origins in China.

Thirty-five patients were identified with the Langya henipavirus in the Shandong and Henan provinces of China, according to the study, with 26 of the patients presenting no other pathogens except the virus.

Symptoms developed by the infected patients included fever (in 100 per cent of the patients), fatigue in 54 per cent, coughing in 50 per cent, loss of appetite in 50 per cent, muscle pain in 46 per cent, nausea in 38 per cent, headache in 35 per cent and vomiting in a per cent.

A decrease in white blood cells was also seen in 54 per cent of patients, a low platelet count in 35 per cent, liver failure in 35 per cent and kidney failure in 8 per cent.

CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang stated that after tests on 25 different wild animal species, the shrew appears to be the most likely to have caused the Langya henipavirus, with 27 per cent of subjects having the virus.

The CDC is yet to determine whether transmission of the virus between humans is possible and a nucleic acid testing method for identification of the virus has been proposed.

The news follows reports of China detecting a case of Bubonic Plague in its Ningxia Hui region, causing it to launch an emergency response.


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Written by

Joshua Manning

Originally from the UK, Joshua is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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