China has reported 35 cases of Langya virus in the country that spread from animals to humans and can cause renal and liver failure.
LayV RNA was predominantly detected in shrews. (Creative Commons)
Nearly three years after the first case of Covid-19 was detected in China, the country has reported cases of another zoonotic virus: Langya Henipavirus (LayV).
China has reported 35 cases of the Langya virus, which spreads from animals to humans and can cause renal and liver failure.
The new type of animal-derived Henipavirus has so far infected people in the Shandong and Henan provinces of China.
Dr Pavithra Venkatagopalan, a virologist from Chennai, told South First: “It’s too early to comment about the spread of the virus from human to human as the findings are at the initial stage.”
A peer-reviewed study published in the New England Journal of Medicine detailed the discovery of the Langya virus after it was observed in 35 patient samples collected in the two aforementioned eastern Chinese provinces.
According to the study, out of 35 cases 26 were infected with LayV. No fatality has been reported.
Of the 26 found to be infected with LayV, here’s how the major symptoms presented:
A sero-survey of domestic animals resulted in the detection of seropositivity in goats (three of 168) and dogs (four of 79).
Among 25 species of wild small animals surveyed, LayV RNA was predominantly detected in shrews (71 of 262).
The finding suggested that the shrew might be a natural reservoir — or even vector — of LayV.
According to the study, there was no close contact or common exposure history among the patients, suggesting that the human population infection might be sporadic.
“Contact tracing of nine patients with 15 close-contact family members revealed no close-contact LayV transmission,” said the study.
“Other Henipaviruses can infect humans. Nipah virus in particular is a cause of concern as it is known to transmit between humans, but it is so lethal that it doesn’t have ‘pandemic potential’. LayV looks far less lethal but probably doesn’t transmit easily from human to human, [sic]” tweeted Professor Francois Balloux of University College London.
At this stage, LayV doesn’t look like a repeat of Covid-19 at all, but it is yet another reminder of the looming threat caused by the many pathogens circulating in populations of wild and domestic animals that have the potential to infect humans.
3/https://t.co/ncf5f7Hjzh— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) August 9, 2022
It should be mentioned that the first Langya virus sample was detected in late 2018 in a farmer in the Shandong province, who sought treatment for a fever.
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