Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Researchers from Hokkaido University, Japan identified a new virus that can infect humans. It is referred to as the Yezo virus, after the historical name of the prefecture.
The existence of this virus was revealed after a 41-year-old man was admitted in 2019. He complained of fever and leg pain, after being bitten by fleas while walking in the Hokkaido Forest.
He was discharged after two weeks of treatment. But in 2020, similar symptoms appeared in a new patient after being bitten by the same animal.
According to the findings, the Yeso virus is transmitted through tick bites. The disease caused by this virus also has a number of symptoms, ranging from fever, decreased red blood cell and white blood platelets.
Researchers also found traces of the Yezo virus in five more patients since 2014 with other signs, namely symptoms of abnormal liver function.
“At least seven people have been infected with this new virus in Japan,” Keita Matsuno, a virologist at the International Institute for Zoonose Control, said in a press statement.
Initially genetic analysis of viruses isolated from blood samples in both patients found a new strain of orthonairovirus, class nairovirus, which includes pathogens such as Crimean-Congo fever (CCHF). Fever is an infectious disease caused by a virus.
To find the origin of the virus, the scientists also screened samples of wild animals from 2010 and 2020. They found viral RNA in three tick species in Hokkaido.
“The Yezo virus appears to have spread in Hokkaido, and it is most likely that the virus causes disease when it is transmitted to humans from animals via fleas,” Matsuno said.
There are currently no reported deaths related to the Yezo virus. However, researchers expect the study to be conducted throughout Japan.
“All cases of Yezo virus infection that we know of so far have not resulted in any deaths, but it is most likely that the disease was found outside Hokkaido, so we need to quickly investigate its spread,” he added.
This finding was published by researchers from Hokkaido University which was later published in the journal Nature Communications.
Meanwhile, citing the Technology Times, it said the new virus was closely related to the Sulina virus and the Tamdy virus, which were detected in Romania and Uzbekistan. Recently, this virus is also said to have caused cases of acute fever in China.
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