Langya (LayV) henipavirus was detected in 35 people in Shantung and Henan provinces of China. Symptoms of the virus have been reported to include fever, fatigue, and cough. 35 people are thought to have contracted the virus from animals. Experts say that for now there is no evidence that the virus spreads between humans.
It is reported that the virus, about which the first findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is mostly seen in shrews. Speaking to the Chinese state news agency Global Times, Wang Linfa, a researcher at Duke-NUS School of Medicine in Singapore, said there was no indication that the virus had caused death or serious illness so far, “there is no cause for panic.” However, Wang stressed that viruses found in nature can lead to unpredictable results when they first infect humans, and therefore care should be taken.
