Covid-19, monkeypox disease caused a lot of anxiety in the society. According to recent research, a new disease has been added to these diseases. According to The Guardian, this virus was first detected in China’s Shandong and Henan regions at the end of 2018, but was officially identified by scientists last week. The possibility of a new epidemic disease has caused concerns in the society.
HOW IS LANGYA VIRUS TRANSMITTED?
The scientists said the virus was likely transmitted from animals to humans, and Taiwan’s health authority is currently monitoring the spread. The researchers tested wild animals and found LayV viral RNA in more than a quarter of 262 mice. This is “a finding that suggests the shrew may be a natural reservoir.” The virus was also detected in 2% of domestic goats and 5% of dogs.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF LANGYA VIRUS?
In humans, the virus caused symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, loss of appetite and muscle aches. The scientists said that all infected people have a fever. The virus was the only potential pathogen found in 26 of 35 people, suggesting “LayV is the cause of febrile illness”.
NO NEED TO PANIC
There have been no deaths from LayV to date. Prof Wang Linfa of the Duke-NUS School of Medicine, co-author of the NEJM paper, told the state-run Global Times that LayV cases so far “have not been fatal or very serious and there is no need to panic”.
TRANSMITTED FROM PEOPLE UNCERTAIN
The researchers said it is still unclear whether the virus can be transmitted between humans. Most of the 35 cases were in farmers and factory workers were among the other infected people. “Contact tracing of nine patients with 15 close contact family members did not reveal close contact LayV transmission, but our sample size was too small to determine human-to-human transmission,” the researchers said.