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As the COVID-19 pandemic threat seemingly fades into the annals of history, scientists are attempting to identify which pathogen will pose the next large-scale threat to humanity. Could it be the Langya virus? Instead of a resurgence of COVID or an avian flu, it just may be the little-known yet formidable Langya virus, which shares similarities with COVID, according to a new article published this month in the journal Nature Communications. As with COVID initially, the virus causes fever and severe respiratory symptoms, and can lead to fatal pneumonia. Also like COVID, it was first identified among humans in China—last year, when it infected 35 farmers and other residents, likely due to contact with shews. It wasn’t the first time a Henipavirus—the family Langya belongs to—has jumped to people, and it won’t be the last, researchers warn. Dr. Ariel Isaacs—a researcher at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Queensland in Australia—said humanity is at an “important juncture” with the genus of viruses and can “expect more spill-over events from animals to people.” “It’s important we understand the inner workings of these emerging viruses,” he said in a news release about the research. Here’s what we know about the relatively new (to humans) virus with the potential to cause a global health emergency—and with eerie similarities to the latest human coronavirus....
