New deadly virus erupts in China as Country recovers from the damages of voronavirus
Kevin Patrice
A new deadly virus known as Hantavirus has reportedly invaded China, creating panic as the Asian nation tries to recover from the ravages caused by the COVID19 pandemic after a man from the Yunnan Province died after contracting the disease on Monday.
According to global times, the diseased, who worked with an aquatic food company in East China’s province of Shandong fell ill while passing through Ningshan county and died at 7 am on Monday.
“He was tested positive for hantavirus. 32 other people were also tested,” the news outlet tweeted. The tweet, sent amid the coronavirus pandemic, has since been shared more than 15,000 times.
No other hantavirus cases have been reported and an investigation has been launched, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
The city in China has already started monitoring and screening people for the disease, with a special team sent to Ningshan county to monitor the situation. Samples of an additional two people with fever and other people accompanying the man have been submitted for testing.
What is hantavirus?
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), members of the family of hantavirus pathogens are mainly spread by rodents and an infection with any hantavirus can produce hantavirus disease in people.
What are the symptoms of hantavirus and how does it spread?
People infected by hantavirus will show symptoms including fever, bleeding and kidney damage, according to experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The incubation period of hantavirus is usually seven to 14 days, with rare cases showing symptoms as after early as four days or as long as two months.
Early symptoms include exhaustion, vomiting and reddish cheeks.
The virus disease is spread through human contact with infected rodents. People can also contract it from a rodent’s feces or urine or via contact with the eyes, nose or mouth and bites from infected rodents.
There has however not been any reported cases of direct person to person transmissions of the disease so far according to media reports.
Unlike Coronavirus which struck the country as a new case in November 2019, hantavirus vaccines have been there in China for as long as 20 years and vaccination is seen as the most efficient way of preventing damage to human lives.
Besides vaccination, the disease can also be contained by avoiding close contacts with rodents and sanitisation of their habitats once infection is detected.
China has the highest population of rodents in the world as they are bred for food and sold in the various food markets, making the country vulnerable to the disease attack.
About Author
