He was temporarily baptized Human Circovirus 1 (HCirV-1). This hitherto unknown virus, from the circovirus family, has just been identified by French scientists* in a 61-year-old woman.
In more than one respect, this is a rare case. First of all, it is the first pathogenic circovirus for humans. Moreover, “if the passage of animal viruses to humans is regularly reported in the scientific literature, it is rare for a new virus to be identified in Europe in a patient”emphasizes the Institut Pasteur.
Genomic sequencing
The patient was followed after a heart and lung transplant performed 17 years earlier. But it was the occurrence in her of unexplained chronic hepatitis, with few symptoms, that led the doctors to carry out genomic sequencing on samples of the pathological tissues.
The role of this unknown virus could thus be demonstrated in liver damage (2 to 3% of liver cells were infected). Concretely, “once this virus had used the resources of the liver cell to multiply, it destroyed it”.
“After antiviral treatment, liver enzymes returned to normal levels in the patient, indicating a cessation of hepatic cytolysis”reassure the scientists.
Public health issue
“The origin of the virus, circulating in humans or of animal origin, remains to be identified, as well as the source of the infection itself (contact, food, etc.)”, recalls the Pasteur Institute. However, this discovery is far from useless since it has made it possible to develop a specific PCR test now available for the diagnosis of hepatitis of unknown origin.
However, many cases occur regularly. ” THE cases of acute hepatitis reported in children in UK and Ireland last April and reported by the WHO remind us of this”underlines the Institute.
“It is also essential to have the ability to identify a new pathogen when an infection is unexplained and to develop a diagnostic test, because potentially any new case of infection with an emerging pathogen in humans can witness of one start of epidemic »concludes Marc Eloit, co-author of the study, head of the Pathogen Discovery laboratory at the Institut Pasteur and Professor of Virology at the National Veterinary School of Alfort (EnvA)
* from the Institut Pasteur, the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital AP-HP, Inserm within the Imagine Institute, Paris Cité University and the National Veterinary School of Alfort (EnvA).