Taiwan health authorities announced on Sunday that a new virus has appeared in China under surveillance. It would be transmitted from animals to humans with characteristics close to the coronavirus.
A virus called “Langya”, which would have similarities with the Covid-19, would have appeared in China. To date, 35 people are said to be infected in Shangdong and Henan, two provinces located in the east of the country.
On Sunday, in the context of tensions between China and Taiwan, the Taiwanese Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced the surveillance of this new virus.
The patients were said to have come into contact with animals and presented with the following symptoms: fever, fatigue, cough, loss of appetite, muscle aches, nausea, headache and vomiting, the Taipei Times reported on Tuesday.
According to the Taiwan researchers, dogs and goats are the main animals carrying the pathogen, which causes damage to human organs.
No deaths or tests yet
This new virus would belong to the Henipavirus family. It is classified as biosafety level 4 and is transmitted through respiratory droplets, according to the World Health Organization.
This report by Taiwan scientists comes three days after the publication of a study on this new virus by scientists from China and Singapore.
In it, the researchers notably suggested that the shrew could be the most obvious animal carrier of “Langya”. So far, no deaths have been reported and most cases have been found to be non-serious.
Taiwanese scientists have announced that they are working on developing a test to detect this new virus.