A new type of animal-derived Henipavirus (also named Langya henipavirus, LayV) that can infect humans has been found in East China’s Shandong Province and Central China’s Henan Province, and has so far infected 35 people in the two provinces, according to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) by scientists from China and Singapore.
Henipavirus can cause severe disease in animals and humans and are classified as biosafety Level 4 viruses with case fatality rates between 40-75 percent, according to the data from World Health Organization (WHO), highlighting that this is much higher than the fatality rate of the coronavirus.
However, there is currently no vaccine or treatment for Henipavirus and the only treatment is supportive care to manage complications.
www.globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1272556.shtml
Doctors in China have sounded the alarm over a newly detected virus.
“Langya” virus has infected 35 people so far in two provinces in eastern China, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.
The virus – officially named Langya henipavirus (LayV) – is entirely novel, meaning it has not infected humans before.
However, it is in the Henipavirus family, of which two species have been identified before – the Hendra virus and Nipah virus.
These produce often severe and fatal illnesses in people – and there are no vaccines or treatments.