Clinical characteristic of Langya Henipavirus infection reported in China
Reviewed by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM. Posted on August 5th, 2022
A recent correspondence published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that a new species of Henipavirus had been detected in China. The infection was detected via a sentinel surveillance program. The virus is assigned to the Langya Henipavirus (LayV) species; which belongs to the Henipavirus genus of the Paramyxoviridae family. LayV is phenotypically similar to the Mojiang Henipavirus that had previously been isolated in Southern China.
As of August 4th, there had been 35 cases of LayV infection. The associated clinical manifestation is very non-specific: fever, fatigue, myalgia, anorexia, headache, cough, nausea, and vomiting. Some other clinical features include thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, impaired liver and kidney function. The cases share no common exposure history, and through contact tracing, human-to-human transmission is not detected.
As of August 4th, there had been 35 cases of LayV infection. The associated clinical manifestation is very non-specific: fever, fatigue, myalgia, anorexia, headache, cough, nausea, and vomiting. Some other clinical features include thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, impaired liver and kidney function. The cases share no common exposure history, and through contact tracing, human-to-human transmission is not detected.