Never-seen-before virus that's 'threat to all mankind' could have horrific symptoms
Some health experts have expressed fears over a potential new global pandemic after a disturbing discovery.
This was after the newly named never-seen-before 'Camp Hill virus' was found in shrews in Alabama - and it belongs to a vicious family of pathogens including the Nipah and Hendra viruses. These viruses, which have potentially fatal symptoms, have a high mortality rate and can kill 70% of people they infect.
Shrews are tiny mole-like animals and the new virus was found in them by researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia. Dr. David Dyjack, a public health expert at the National Environmental Health Association, said: 'A virus like this could be threatening to all mankind.'
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He added to Mail Online: 'What concerns us in public health is we have this virus with [we believe] a very high mortality rate, and if it were to mutate and transmit to a human, and attack the kidneys, as we've seen in some animals, that could be particularly threatening to all of mankind.'
No human has yet to be infected but pathogens in the same family have horrific consequences including to spinal cord and brain inflammation, brain swelling, respiratory distress, kidney damage, and liver damage.
Giving a stark warning of just how worried he is, Dr Dyjack: 'I would say that there are three things that keep me up at night: One is a nuclear war. The second is the implications of a changing climate, and the third is a global pandemic. The Camp Hill virus sits squarely in the bullseye of the pandemic concern.'
But Dr. Donald Burke, an epidemiologist who predicted Covid-19, was much calmer and said Camp Hill would not cause an epidemic. And a virologist at Boston University, Dr Adam Hume, also added reassurance, saying: 'At this point we don't know enough about it. Maybe someday in the future, we would be able to sort of determine [transmissibility and virulence].'
Despite this, there has been a blueprint of viruses found in shrews jumping to humans. This includes the Langya, which like Camp Hill, is part of the henipavirus family. The symptoms were mild including coughing, fatigue and fever but other viruses like Nipah and Hendra resulted in high mortality rates and severe respiratory problems. Those symptoms are more dangerous and as stated previously can include inflammation, respiratory failure and pneumonia and can happen up to three weeks after exposure.
One man who helped discover Camp Hill, Dr. Rhys Parry, said it was mostly found in the kidneys of shrews and could theoretically be transmitted through bodily fluids.
He added: 'The closest known henipavirus to Camp Hill virus that has caused disease in humans is Langya virus, which crossed from shrews to humans in China.This indicates that shrew-to-human transmission can occur.'
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