Dozens of people infected with Langya virus. A new pathogen has been identified in China.

Doctors from China have raised the alarm about the LayV virus, also known as Langya. Recently, dozens of human infections have occurred in Henan and Shandong provinces. It is carried by shrews.

1. Chinese doctors discovered new cases of Langya virus infection among humans
2. Symptoms of infection are fever and often accompanying fatigue, cough and loss of appetite. Some patients also complain of problems with the kidneys and liver function
3. Langya belongs to the same group as the Nipah virus, detected in 1999 in Singapore and Malaysia, for which no effective vaccine has yet been developed.
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Langya virus was detected in 35 people, according to the «New England Journal of Medicine». The virus caused a mild course of the disease in most people, and none of the new cases were fatal. Patients experience flu-like symptoms. According to available information, the disease was transmitted by shrews. Researchers are currently trying to determine if the virus can spread from person to person.

Chinese scientists, led by the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology in a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, explained that the Langya virus was first observed in 2018 in Shandong Province, and in 2019 in Shandong and Henan, where it in 14 people. In the pandemic, scientists did not monitor it because they focused on fighting COVID-19. However, work resumed. The virus has only now been formally identified.

Scientists do not know if the Langya virus can spread from person to person

The most common symptom of those infected with Langya virus was fever, 54 percent. of them also complained of fatigue, 50 percent. for cough, 50 percent for loss of appetite, 46 percent for muscle aches, 38 percent nausea, 35 percent for liver problems, and 8 percent. on kidney function.

Scientists also tracked the presence of the virus in animal populations to see if it was spreading through domestic or wild animals, or if it was transmitting between humans. Researchers found the virus in 71 of the 262 shrews caught in the provinces where the epidemic broke and in 5% of them. of the tested dogs and 2 percent. goats.

“There was no close contact or common exposure history between patients, suggesting that infection in the human population may be sporadic. Tracing the contacts of 10 patients with 15 family members in close contact showed no LayV transmission, “Chinese researchers wrote in a report in the” New England Journal of Medicine “. However, they added, the sample size was too small to determine how and if the virus spreads from person to person.

Langya belongs to the same family as the Nipah virus, which is a lethal pathogen usually found in bats. Like COVID-19, Nipah can spread via airborne droplets. At the same time, it is much more deadly. It kills up to three-quarters of people infected with it and has been listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the viruses that could trigger another pandemic.

Nipah was first discovered in Malaysia and Singapore in 1999, leading to 100 deaths out of 300 infected. At present, animal testing of at least eight Nipah vaccines is ongoing, and Oxford University is responsible for the development of one.