A 53-year-old woman showed up at a China hospital with flu-like symptoms in December 2018. The patient was infected with a henipavirus, a class that includes some dangerous pathogens like the Nipah virus, which has a fatality rate of 40 to 75 percent.
But the virus infecting her was genetically distinct from the other henipaviruses scientists had previously seen as it came from a novel pathogen now known as Langya virus.
According to findings published last week by a research team in Singapore, Australia, and China, scientists detected 34 more Langya cases across two eastern Chinese provinces through 2021, with none of those patients dying.
No sign of human-to-human transmission of Langya virus
Scientists are not yet alarmed because of that. There is also no sign of human-to-human transmission as the patients who were studied did not seem to spread the Langya virus to close contacts, nor did they have histories of common exposures. So the Langya virus appears to be causing infrequent, sporadic infections, and the pathogen is most likely passed from animals to people.
Other henipaviruses that spread from animals to humans can still cause severe outcomes. Hendra virus, which can lead to brain inflammation or respiratory illness, has a fatality rate of 57 percent. Nipah virus also produces similar symptoms.
Vaughn Cooper, an evolutionary biology professor at the University of Pittsburgh who was not involved in the research, told NBC News that this is from a family of viruses they know are concerning. This group has added a new lineage of viruses capable of severe disease. Cooper said that increased surveillance is likely to detect more cases of Langya.
Peter John Hudson, a biology professor at Penn State who studies the pathogens, said that the Langya virus looks different from the Nipah and Hendra viruses. He said it is closely associated with the henipaviruses, but it might not even be in that family.
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Shrews might be the natural hosts for the Langya virus
According to the study, all of the reported Langya cases developed fevers. Around half of the cases experienced cough, muscle pain, and fatigue. Roughly one-third of the cases developed nausea, vomiting, headache, and impaired liver function. Two patients in the study had impaired kidney function.
The research team suggested that shrews might be the natural hosts for the Langya virus. They are small, mouse-like mammals that feed on insects. After the team examined 25 species of small wild animals, they found that 27 percent of shrews had Langya virus, which was the highest share for any species in the research, according to Time Magazine.
Cooper said there are repeated transmission events from what looks to be a common reservoir in shrews. He added that the team did a very nice job evaluating alternatives and finding that as the most likely explanation.
