A scientific study has revealed the detection in two Chinese provinces of 35 infections in humans of a new virus of animal origin of the
Henipavirus
type , state media report.
The cases, none of them serious, were found in
Shandong
(east) and Henan (center), according to the official
Global Times
newspaper , which cites an article published by Chinese and
Singaporean
scientists in the
New England Journal of Medicine
, one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world.
The virus, for which there are currently no vaccines or treatments, was detected through
samples taken from the throat
of patients who had had recent contact with animals and is associated with symptoms such as
fever, tiredness, cough, loss of appetite, headaches. and muscle and nausea
.
According to the newspaper, subsequent investigations revealed that 26 of the 35 patients carrying this
Henipavirus
developed these clinical symptoms, to which irritability and vomiting are added.
According to the state news portal
The Paper
,
Henipavirus
is one of the main emerging causes of the leap from animal to human diseases (a process called
zoonosis
) in the Asia-Pacific region.
Said medium indicates that one of the virus transmission vectors are fruit bats, considered natural hosts of two of the known
Henipaviruses
:
Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV)
.
The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that the
Hendra
virus causes infections in humans that range from asymptomatic to acute respiratory infections and severe encephalitis, with an estimated fatality rate of between 40 and 75% that "may vary depending on local capacities for epidemiological research and clinical management".
At the moment, says the
Global Times
,
it has not been proven that there is transmission from person to person
, although previous reports indicate that this type of contagion is not ruled out either.
"
Coronavirus
will not be the last contagious disease to cause a pandemic, as new diseases will have an increasing impact on the daily life of the human race," said the deputy director of the Department of Infectious Pathology at Huashan University-affiliated hospital. of Fudan (Shanghai).
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