A group of international scientists has begun tracking a new, animal-derived virus that has infected several dozen people in eastern China.
The novel Langya henipavirus was identified after it was observed in 35 patient samples from the Shandong and Henan provinces, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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The virus was likely transmitted from animals to humans because there is no evidence that it can transmit among humans as of present.
Researchers so far have detected the virus predominantly in shrews, small mammals that eat insects, and believe they could have hosted the virus before it infected humans. The virus was also tested on other wild animals and found in 2% of domestic goats and 5% of dogs, according to the Guardian.
The first Langya virus sample was detected in 2018 from a farmer in the Shandong province. Thirty-four others were discovered to be infected with the virus over a roughly two-year period, many of those being farmers.
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Those afflicted reported symptoms such as fatigue, fever, and a cough.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 3 out of 4 new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.
