Another virus has recently made headlines, following the coronavirus and monkeypox. According to Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC), "The zoonotic Langya virus has been discovered in China and has so far been linked to 35 human infections. It also states that Taipei would set up a nucleic acid testing procedure to detect the virus and keep track of its spread. The Shandong and Henan provinces of China have both discovered the Langya henipavirus, which can spread from animals to people."
The report states that in the Shandong and Henan provinces, 26 of 35 cases of Langya Henipavirus infection manifested clinical symptoms, including fever, irritability, cough, anorexia, myalgia, nausea, headache, and vomiting.
Horses that have been exposed to bat urine become infected with the Hendra virus through direct contact with the animals' body fluids or tissues. The Hendra virus cannot be transmitted directly from bats to humans or from one person to another.There is no vaccine or treatment for henipavirus at the moment, and the only option is supportive care to manage complications.
The new Henipavirus (also known as Langya henipavirus, LayV) was discovered in throat swab samples from febrile patients in eastern China, according to media reports cited by the state-run Global Times.
According to study participants, this newly discovered Henipavirus, which may have originated in animals, is associated with some febrile cases, and infected people experience symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, anorexia, myalgia, and nausea.
Nipah virus and Hendra virus are zoonotic paramyxoviruses (genus Henipavirus) that have caused human deaths in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Bangladesh . Known reservoirs for henipaviruses
The report added that as the virus is new, Taiwan’s laboratories will first need to establish a standardised nucleic acid testing method to monitor human infections.
However, the cases have not been very serious or fatal. Wang Linfa, a Professor in the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School asked people to not panic but to stay alert as many viruses that exist in nature have unpredictable results when they infect humans.