A zoonotic virus recently discovered in China’s Shandong Province and other places is of the same genus as the virus discovered in Korea last year, a domestic research team said.
Professor Jin-Won Song’s team from the Department of Microbiology at Korea University College of Medicine and Professor Won-Geun Kim’s team from Hallym University College of Medicine discovered the world’s first four new paramyxoviruses, including the Henipavirus family, in three species of rodents and carnivores living in Korea last year. academic journal Wow posted in
Prof. Song’s team discovered new paramyxoviruses in the insectivorous animals known to have hantavirus, the Ussuri shrew and the small shrew, respectively, and named them Gamak virus and Daeryong virus. These two viruses were recently reported by Chinese and Singaporean researchers in an international scientific journal. It was found in the same host animal as the new Langyahenipavirus (Rangyavirus) in Shandong Province, China, and is included in the very similar genus according to genetic analysis.
Henipavirus, transmitted from fruit bats that inhabit Southeast Asia, is known to have a very high fatality rate of up to 70%, although the transmission power is not great. On the other hand, it was announced that the Langya virus found in China does not cause fatal or very serious diseases.
Professor Song Jin-won said, “Judging from the cases of langya virus infection so far, it is estimated that Gamak virus and Daeryong virus found in Korea are not fatal to humans. Since it shows symptoms such as such, it will be necessary to prepare for the emergence of a new virus through additional research in Korea.”