Beijing: On August 8, China confirmed that 35 people were infected with the zoonotic Langya virus. According to information from the Taiwan Center for Disease Control (TCDC), the first cases of Langya virus were found in Shandong and Hainan provinces on the Chinese mainland. According to the Taipei Times, officials have decided to start using nucleic acid testing procedures to detect the virus and track its spread.
The Taipei CDC has issued a precautionary alert, advising people to keep a close watch on reports of the virus. Chuang Zhen-siang, deputy director of the Taiwan CDC, told the Taipei Times that so far no reports have indicated that the virus spreads from the human-to-human body. He further said that after the serological survey, about 2% of goats and 5% of dogs and other domestic animals have been found infected with the virus so far.
Cases of infection have been found in two provinces of China, Shandong, and Hainan. According to CDC Deputy Director General Chuang Zhen-hsiang, the agency will soon create a standardized process for home laboratories to conduct genome sequencing and robust surveillance.
Virus symptoms
Symptoms such as fever, tiredness, cough, loss of appetite, muscle discomfort, nausea, headache, and vomiting have been found in 26 people infected with the virus. Additionally, a decrease in the white blood cells of the patients has also been revealed. This results in liver and kidney failure as well as low platelet count.
What will be the next action of the experts?
Chuang said that since the Langya virus is a recently discovered virus, Taiwanese laboratories will need a standardized nucleic acid test method to identify the virus. So that if needed, the human infection can be tracked from it.
