New Langya virus detected in China. Here’s what we know so far

Thirty-five people in two Chinese provinces infected with a new zoonotic virus that is believed to have transmitted from shrews. Is there reason to be concerned?

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and a concerning monkeypox outbreak, a new zoonotic virus likely transmitted to humans from animals has caught the attention of scientists.

In China, between December 2018 and August 2021, 35 people were infected with the Langya virus that is believed to have spread from shrews — small mole-like mammals — according to researchers.

The findings published in the New England Journal of Medical last week did not suggest human-to-human transmission, but the sample size was too small to determine if the virus can be spread from close contact between people, the study authors said.

“Contact tracing of nine patients with 15 close-contact family members revealed no close-contact LayV transmission,” they wrote.

“There was no close contact or common exposure history among the patients, which suggests that the infection in the human population may be sporadic.”

Samples were collected from April 2018 to August 2021. The cases were detected in the eastern provinces of Shandong and Henan.

Among the 35 patients, 26 were infected with Langya only and all had fever. Other symptoms included fatigue, cough, nausea, headache and vomiting. More severe cases had impaired liver and kidney function.

Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist at the McGill University Health Centre, said scientists should closely monitor Langya, which he says has never been detected in humans before, as there is not enough information about how it spreads and behaves.