During the new crown that lasted for more than two years, I believe everyone has a lot of complaints. Accidentally, he was locked up at home, accidentally unable to return home, accidentally ran out of food, and accidentally lost his job. In short, most people have gone through the most difficult period.
Seeing that the vaccine was successfully developed, the vaccination rate continued to increase, the epidemic was under control, and daily life was about to return to normal, people encountered a new "crisis". Recently, domestic and foreign scientists jointly issued a document stating that a new zoonotic virus had been discovered, which instantly triggered a sense of crisis among the people.
The repeated COVID-19 epidemics are enough to cause headaches. Now that the "Langya" virus has come again, will people face a new round of epidemics? What is the "Langya" virus? Is it really that scary?
1. The "Langya" virus has infected 35 people!
A few days ago, an article about the "Langya" virus in an authoritative medical journal aroused heated discussion among netizens. The article mentioned that the virus is a new zoonotic virus and 35 people have been infected in China, mainly in Henan and Shandong.
After experiencing the new coronavirus epidemic, people are somewhat sensitive to words such as "virus, epidemic, infection". There were not many confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the early stages, but as the epidemic continued to expand, the numbers grew to sky-high numbers. Therefore, the emergence of the "Langya" virus once aroused people's fear.
Research pointed out that the new virus discovered this time is the sixth known new member of the Nipah virus family. In terms of symptoms, humans generally experience myalgia, fatigue, nausea, cough, and vomiting in the early stages of infection, among which fever is the most common.
So, will this virus cause large-scale spread? Are we about to experience a new round of epidemics?
2. Whether it can be transmitted from person to person has not yet been determined!
Since the "Langya" virus is a newly discovered virus, the medical community currently does not have a detailed understanding of it, and can only conduct auxiliary analysis through the characteristics of the Nipah virus of the same genus.
It is understood that the natural host of Nipah virus is fruit bats , and it is mainly transmitted through saliva and urine. When fruit bats chew fruit or their urine is contaminated, humans may become infected after contact. Therefore, Nipah virus often breaks out in some dirty and messy areas. The worse the sanitary conditions, the higher the risk of transmission.
Relevant data from 2001 to 2008 show that when Nipah virus outbreaks broke out in Bangladesh and India, human-to-human transmission did occur, and 75% of the cases occurred between patients and medical staff. However, researchers have not yet discovered that the "Langya virus" is transmitted from person to person.
On the one hand, the 35 officially confirmed cases in China did not appear in clusters in a short period of time, but were discovered sporadically from 2019 to 2021. The number of confirmed cases is not high and the duration is long, which to some extent shows that the virus is not highly contagious among people.
On the other hand, considering that the number of cases discovered so far is small, the number of subjects that can be studied is limited, and there is no history of contact between patients, it can be basically judged that the transmissibility of the virus is low. From this perspective, people don’t need to worry too much.
However, it is worth noting that according to the currently known information about Nipah virus, the fatality rate of this type of virus can reach up to 75%. If this type of virus continues to mutate like the new coronavirus and its transmissibility gradually increases, it may still cause large-scale spread in the future.
However, this is all just speculation. Further research is needed to know the transmission mode, transmissibility, clinical characteristics, pathogenicity, incidence pattern, etc. of the "Langya" virus, especially the status of human-to-human transmission.
3. How to achieve effective protection in the face of new viruses?
It is understood that in addition to infecting 35 people, the virus also infected sheep and dogs. This means that before the method of virus transmission is clarified, the possibility of human-animal transmission cannot be ruled out.
In addition, people’s knowledge of this type of virus is limited, and relevant details are still being explored, so the importance of basic protection cannot be ignored. recommends that friends, when entering and leaving the natural environment, minimize contact with wild animals. If you accidentally encounter them, be sure to clean and disinfect them.
In addition, wild animals should also be avoided in the diet. Some people believe that wild animals grow in natural environments, and their meat is more delicious and nutritious. But in fact, there is not much difference in nutritional value and taste.
Due to different growth environments, wild animals are more likely to be exposed to various bacteria and parasites, making it difficult to meet dietary safety standards. If you encounter someone carrying a virus, you will inevitably be infected. Therefore, we must also pay close attention to food safety. Refusing to eat wild game is to protect yourself.
Summary:
Although 35 cases of "Langya" virus infection have been discovered in my country, current information points out that the virus is not highly transmissible, so there is no need to panic. Since the virus is still in the research stage, how it will develop in the future needs to continue to be explored.
So friends, do you think the "Langya" virus may cause an epidemic?
