China Reports New ‘Langya’ Virus

China has reported a new type of animal-derived virus while the entire world is yet struggling to fight Covid-19 and trying to find ways to curb monkeypox.

The name of the virus is Henipavirus or Langya henipavirus (LayV).

According to the country’s media reports, the novel Langya virus has so far infected 35 people in the county.

The virus was first detected in the northeastern provinces of Shandong and Henan in the year 2018 and was officially detected last week in the country.

As per reports, it was found in throat swab samples from feverish patients in eastern China.

In a research led by the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology in 2019, researchers tracked the symptoms of the virus in the patients where they most common symptom is fever. It is followed by cough, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle aches, and tendency to vomit.

The virus belongs to the family of deadly Nipah virus which is found in bats. It spreads through respiratory droplets similar to Covid-19.

The virus is far more dangerous as it kills up to three-quarters of humans.

However, no death has been reported so far.

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