About 35 people have been sickened by a fresh virus spreading in China, with scientists warning it's too early to determine if it's fatal or spreads between people. .“There was no close contact or common exposure history among the patients, which suggests that the infection in the human population may be sporadic,” said researchers in a New England Journal of Medicine study. .“Contact tracing of nine patients with 15 close-contact family members revealed no close-contact LayV transmission, but our sample size was too small.”.The Langya henipavirus (LayV) appears to be spreading between animals in parts of China. .The study said LayV belongs to a family of viruses known to infect people and lead to serious disease. .None of the 35 confirmed cases in China have proven to be fatal. All of the cases saw people suffer from fevers, and half of them had fatigue and coughs. .About 54% of patients developed leukopenia, seeing their white blood cells decrease. More than one-third had an impaired liver, and 8% saw their kidneys deteriorate. .Scientists tested 25 animals in surrounding areas. These scientists found LayV in 27% of tested shrews, suggesting these animals might be hosts for the virus. .The study said the same family of viruses can spread among people, but there have not been enough cases to make this determination.
