New virus! Animal-derived Langya henipavirus found in China

Here is a new virus from China. Even as the world continues to grapple with the aftereffects of the China-born Covid-19, a new virus by the name of Langya henipavirus (LayV) has been found in as many as 35 patients in that country. It is an animal-derived virus, which might or might not lead to unpredictable consequences when humans are infected.

All the infected individuals hail from two provinces: Shandong and Henan. While they are not healthy currently, none of them is facing a life-threatening situation.

Fever, irritability, cough, anorexia, myalgia, nausea, headache and vomiting have been identified as the major symptoms of the virus.

Is the human-to-human transmission of LayV possible? So far, scientific information is sketchy. But a report by the New England Journal of Medicine says the infected patients had a history of being in contact with animals and that it’s now possible the virus has already been transmitted from human to human.

If a human-to-human transmission is as easy as it was in the case of Covid-19, international travel bans will be imposed at the earliest.