In an update about him new Langia virus discovered in China by the National Public Health Organization (EODI), stating that there is no cause for concern.

Referring to the full history of identification of this virus in animals and its nature, EODY states that extensive research is still needed. In any case, so far it has caused febrile cases and no deaths.

The main symptoms of Langia genipavirus (LayV) in 26 patients in China are: fever, fatigue, cough, anorexia, myalgia, headache, vomiting, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and liver and kidney dysfunction.

Full EODY announcement:

Information about the discovery of a new virus in China was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The new virus is a zoonosis (transmitted from animal to human) belonging to the Henipavirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family. Some viruses in this group can cause serious illness and even death in humans. The new virus was discovered during an investigation of febrile cases with a recent history of animal contact in the East China region. In particular, a genetically distinct henipavirus named Langya henipavirus (LayV) has been identified. The LayV genome consists of 18,402 nucleotides with a genome organization similar to other genipaviruses. The new virus is most genetically related to the Mojiang henipavirus, which was isolated from southern China.

Further investigation into the presence of the virus in humans showed that 35 people were infected with LayV in Shandong and Henan provinces of China, of which 26 were infected with LayV alone (no other pathogens were found). These 26 patients had symptoms such as fever (100% of cases), fatigue (54%), cough (50%), anorexia (50%), myalgia (46%), nausea (38%), headache (35 %). ) and vomiting (35%), accompanied by thrombocytopenia (35%), leukopenia (54%), impaired liver function (35%) and kidney function (8%). In a seroepidemiological study on domestic animals, the presence of antibodies was detected in goats (3 out of 168.2%) and dogs (4 out of 79.5%). Among 25 wild small animal species surveyed, LayV RNA was predominantly found in midges (71 out of 262, 27%), suggesting that midges are likely the natural reservoir of LayV.

In the study, LayV was the only pathogen found in 26 of 35 patients (74%) with acute LayV infection. In serum samples obtained from 14 patients during the acute phase of infection and recovery, antibody (IgG) titers in 86% of the recovery samples were 4 times higher than in the acute phase samples. Viremia (detection of the virus) has been associated with acute LayV infection, while patients with pneumonia had a higher viral load than patients without pneumonia. Although human-to-human transmission of the Nipah virus is possible, no epidemiological correlation (spatial or temporal convergence) has been found with LayV cases. In addition, no close contacts or shared history of infection were reported between cases, suggesting that cases of human infection are sporadic. Contact tracing of 9 cases showed no transmission of LayV to 15 members of their close contacts in the same family, but the sample size was still too small to determine the risk of human-to-human transmission.

The study revealed the identification of a new virus of possible animal origin in China that has been found in cases of fever but has not yet caused a fatality in any of them. The findings warrant further research to better understand the characteristics and epidemiology of the disease in humans, and there is currently no cause for particular concern about the new virus.