Surprisingly, new henipaviruses are being detected on a regular basis in animals, including cedar virus in fruit bats in Australia, Ghana virus in African bats, Gamak and Daeong viruses in shrue in Korea, and Mojiang virus in rats in China.
The authors noted: “It is suspected that Ghana virus can spread between humans, as is the case with Nipah, Hendra and Langya viruses.”
Langya virus compares with other henipaviruses?
The authors of the article noted that Langya is closely related to the Mojiang virus, which presents with early COVID-19-like symptoms.
Langya and Mòjiāng are responsible for causing severe pneumonia, with Mòjiāng causing ground-glass opacities on X-rays of the lungs of those infected, as well as often severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) two other similarities to early COVID. -19, a 2020 article Frontiers in Public Health Recommended
What is the treatment for Langya virus or Henipavirus?
There is currently no treatment for these pathogens, however, they are on the WHO list prioritizing research into vaccines and therapeutics.
The authors note that a vaccine against Hendra virus is currently available for animals, and a similar vaccine is being tested in humans.
But these may not work in Langya and Mojiang which are more similar to Lang than Hendra – the authors say.
“These are viruses that can cause serious disease and have the potential to get out of control if we’re not properly prepared,” said the paper’s author, Dr. Daniel Watterson, in a news release.
“We saw with COVID-19 how unprepared the world was for a massive viral outbreak, and we want to be better equipped for the next outbreak.”
