The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported Friday that it was monitoring the presence in Europe of China’s newly identified virus, Langya henipavirus, stressing that the risk of infection for Europeans is “very low.”
As part of its epidemic intelligence activities, the ECDC is monitoring the occurrence of infections with emerging human pathogens, including viruses of the henipavirus genus. ) already has 35 infected in China.
In the position, the ECDC notes that “based on the limited information currently available, the risk to EU citizens visiting or residing in the Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan, where the virus has been reported, is considered very low.
Likewise, the risk of contagion for EU citizens in Europe is considered very low”, he stresses.
China’s newly identified virus, LayV, infected 35 people, with symptoms manifesting between 2018 and 2021, according to a study published in early August.
The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine and is signed by researchers from China, Singapore and Australia, who recruited people with suspected zoonotic diseases in Chinese hospitals between April 2018 and August 2021.
Cases of infection (26) and coinfection (9) by LayV, a virus of the henipavirus genus, were diagnosed in the Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan from a first patient from whom pharyngeal secretions were collected for analysis. Subsequently, blood samples were analyzed.
The 26 people infected only with the LayV virus (and not with other viruses at the same time) presented symptoms such as fever, tiredness, cough, anorexia, headaches, muscle aches, nausea or vomiting, accompanied, in some cases, by changes in function of the kidneys and liver or in the production of blood cells. Most of the people were farmers and women and were 45 years of age or older.
The study suggests that the the shrew (small mouse-like rodent) may be the natural reservoir of the virus and that infection in humans may be sporadic, as there was no close contact or common exposure history among patients.
The authors of the work consider that the finding made, that of a new henipavirus with probable animal origin and linked to a febrile state in people, “deserves further investigation to better understand the associated human disease.”
The small number of samples studied did not allow scientists to determine if there is transmission of LayV between humans.
The LayV virus is most closely related, from a phylogenetic point of view, to the Mojiang henipavirus, which was discovered in southern China.
In Portugal, the Directorate General for Health told Lusa to stay in contact with international health authorities, pending further information from the World Health Organization on possible measures to be taken.
Source: Observadora
