Concerns grow after new tick-borne virus discovered in China
Newly discovered Wetland Virus in China, spread by ticks, raises concerns due to its severe neurological effects.
Wetland Virus (WELV), a novel tick-borne virus, has been detected in people for the first time, which has some worried about possible neurological effects.
As stated in a paper that appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, the virus was initially identified in June 2019 and found in China. The first patient was a 61-year-old Jinzhou resident who became ill from tick bites in the wetlands of Inner Mongolia. Antibiotic-resistant symptoms included vomiting, fever, and headaches.
WELV belongs to a class of viruses carried by ticks that can result in serious infections akin to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. After gathering data on the virus’s distribution from about 14,600 ticks in northern China, researchers discovered that 2% of the ticks carried WELV genetic material. Additionally, the virus was found in pigs, sheep, horses, and rodents, among other animals.
Twelve out of 640 forest guards with WELV antibodies and twenty tick-bite patients tested positive for the virus, according to blood tests. There were patients with mild to severe symptoms, and one even went into a coma. While most patients recovered, laboratory tests on mice revealed that WELV could affect the neurological system and result in fatal infections, underscoring the virus’s potential for major health issues.
