Scientists have announced that they have discovered a new virus in Tanzania and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among bats. Called “Kiwira virus”, it belongs to the hantavirus family. The discovery was detailed in the review Viruses.
⋙ Towards more zoonoses, with the risk of new pandemics
What is a hantavirus?
A hantavirus is a virus present in the urine, saliva or feces of infected wild rodents. Some hantaviruses can enter the body through direct contact, but also through ingestion of contaminated food or water.
The consequences can be serious, the hantavirus being able in particular to cause two serious diseases: the pulmonary syndrome with hantavirus (in North America) and the haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (especially in Europe and Asia). For the first, 40% of those affected do not survive.
Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, headache, shortness of breath, rapid pulse, and gastrointestinal upset. As health deteriorates, the lungs may fill with fluid, and blood pressure may drop.
⋙ “Bats: ally or enemy?”, a captivating investigation into the health secrets of the winged mammal
Is the “Kiwira virus” dangerous for humans?
So far, no cases of this new virus have been detected in humans. But the study authors explain that it can be complicated to detect, the symptoms of hantavirus resembling those of the flu.
Scientists also indicate that the species of bat carrying the virus is known to hang “in and around human habitation”so a “potential fallout of the Kiwira virus on humans must be considered”.
But at the moment they are not able to predict how the disease might affect humans. Will it be fatal in one out of three cases, like the Sin Number virus? Or with a death rate of less than one in 200, like the Puumala virus?
To date, little evidence indicates that the Kiwira virus could cause problems, including in bats. In fact, only six out of 334 bats from Tanzania and one out of 49 bats from the Democratic Republic of Congo have been identified as carriers of the disease.
Read also :
