Langya Henipavirus: All you need to know about new zoonotic virus that’s infected 35 people

As nations continue to contain the twin-threat of COVID-19 and monkeypox, there is another zoonotic virus that has made headlines in China. This new animal-derived Henipavirus or Langya Henipavirus, has infected 35 people in the Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan. 

The state-run Global Times stated that the Langya Henipavirus was found in throat swab samples of febrile patients in eastern China. 

The infected individuals have shown a range of symptoms including fever, fatigue, cough, anorexia, myalgia, and nausea. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for Henipavirus. 

Of the 35 cases of Langya Henipavirus, 26 have shown symptoms of fever, irritability, cough, anorexia, myalgia, nausea, headache and vomiting. According to Taipei Times, some infected also showed a decrease in white blood cells, low platelet count, liver failure and kidney failure.

According to the report, Taiwan’s Centres for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang said that human-to-human transmission of the virus is yet to be reported. He said that the 35 infected individuals did not have close contact with each other or a common exposure history. Contact tracing also showed no viral transmission among close contacts. However, the CDC has yet not ruled out the possibility of human-to-human transmission. 

The report added that as the virus is new, Taiwan’s laboratories will first need to establish a standardised nucleic acid testing method to monitor human infections. 

However, the cases have not been very serious or fatal. Wang Linfa, a Professor in the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School asked people to not panic but to stay alert as many viruses that exist in nature have unpredictable results when they infect humans. 

(With PTI inputs)

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