A new virus has been discovered in a patient with hepatitis of unknown origin. It belongs to a family of viruses usually detected in animals.
A new virus to watch out for? An unknown virus, for the moment named circovirus HCirV-1, was discovered in France by scientists from the Pasteur Institute, the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital AP-HP, the Imagine Institute of Inserm, from Paris-Cité University and the National Veterinary School of Alfort (EnvA). Their findings were published in an article in the journal Emerging Infectious DiseasesJanuary 3.
An immunocompromised patient
Circovirus belongs to a family of Circoviridae, “very resistant small DNA viruses”, according to the Pasteur Institute. This family was discovered in 1974 and the viruses that belong to it are usually detected in animals, in particular pigs or certain birds, in which they cause “respiratory, renal, dermatological and reproductive problems”. This is the first time that a virus from this family has been detected in humans.
It all started last year, when a new virus, classified as Circoviridae, was detected in a 61-year-old woman. The patient does not have an ordinary profile, she suffers from hepatitis and underwent a double heart and lung transplant seventeen years earlier. Since then, she has been immunocompromised and has to undergo treatment.
Researcher Marc Eloit, 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), explains to BFMTV.com that the patient was therefore ” very medically monitored”.
liver damage
Suddenly, in the past year, she has “significantly elevated liver enzyme levels”, which may be a sign of a “liver infection”. The teams are therefore working to determine the origin, but “the investigations show nothing known”. This is how a new virus is identified.
A discovery “unexpected to say the least”, assures Marc Eloit in a press release.
It is then provisionally named Human Circovirus 1 or HCirV-1. The sexagenarian is now cured, but suffered liver damage, some cells having been destroyed.
“Analyze the frequency of the virus”
Marc Eloit assures BFMTV.com that “there is no particular concern” on the part of researchers following the discovery of this virus.
Same speech on the side of the epidemiologist Antoine Flahault, for whom there is no reason to be alarmed because of the particular profile of the patient. “We should not worry regarding the discovery of a single case in a patient, who also has very particular immunity,” he told BFMTV.com.
For researchers, no epidemic in sight for the moment. The objective is now “to analyze the frequency of the virus in humans”.
The origin of the virus still unknown
For now, the origin of the virus and its source of infection have yet to be identified for scientists. The question is whether the virus comes “from humans, but remained unknown or from animals, but made inroads into humans”, indicates the researcher.
“When we discover a virus, we want to know if the virus is new or if it has just been discovered. The most likely is that the virus has been around for a long time,” he said.
“To adapt the treatment and follow-up of patients, it is essential for us to know the cause of hepatitis, and in particular to know if it is viral”, indicates for her part in the conclusions of the investigation the researcher Anne Jamet. , author of the study and member of the clinical microbiology department of the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital AP-HP, affiliated with Inserm.
A PCR test already developed
Following this discovery, the researchers developed a PCR test intended to detect the patients concerned as quickly as possible. A serological test must follow.
“The next step is to detect if there are other cases. We will test other patients by PCR and search for antibodies once morest the virus in the general human population”, indicates Marc Eloit.
In the spring of 2022, the WHO sounded the alarm following the detection of cases of acute hepatitis in children in twenty different countries, including the United Kingdom.