Langya virus: What are the symptoms?
Only 35 cases discovered so far but most patients did report fever and fatigue from disease also linked to liver and kidney impairment
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A virus discovered in the eastern Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan is causing concern after scientists found that it had the potential to prove fatal to humans.
However, just 35 cases of Langya Henipavirus have been diagnosed so far and none have proven deadly or caused serious illness, according to Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Its discovery was first reported in the New England Journal of Medicine on 4 August in a study entitled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China”.
“There was no close contact or common exposure history among the patients, which suggests that the infection in the human population may be sporadic,” the study stated.
Transferred from animals to humans, the Langya virus appears to be particularly prevalent in shrews, with dogs and goats also testing positive for the disease at lower rates, according to the research.
What are the symptoms of the Langya virus?
The majority of the patients diagnosed with the virus thus far have developed a range of flu-like symptoms including fever (100 per cent), fatigue (54 per cent), cough (50 per cent) and muscle aches and pains (46 per cent), nausea (38 per cent), headaches and vomiting (both 35 per cent).
It has also been linked with lower white blood cell counts in infected patients, as well as impaired liver and reduced kidney function.
Of the 35 patients identified between December 2018 and May 2021 (most of whom are farmers), nine were asymptomatic. That works out to roughly one in four.
The reason for concern is that two previous forms of henipavirus – the Hendra virus and Nipah virus, discovered in Australia in 1994 and Malaysia in 1999 respectively – have both likewise proved transmissible by animals and had high fatality rates.
However, virologists have so far been keen to allay such fears.
“The only henipavirus that has shown some sign of human-to-human transmission is the Nipah virus and that requires very close contact,” Olivier Restiff of the University of Cambridge told New Scientist.
“I don’t think this has much pandemic potential.”
Francis Balloux of University College London agreed but did warn: “The vast majority of our pathogens come from animal populations. I think we should be better prepared for an event like Covid-19 happening. I think it’s very likely this will happen in the coming decades.”
Nevertheless, Chuang Jen-hsiang, deputy director of Taiwan’s CDC, said its laboratories were working on a standardised nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus, so that human infections could be monitored.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments