Wander Thoughts

• A Potential COVID-like Outbreak Raises Pandemic Concerns in Alabama

Pandemic forecasters are raising concerns after a previously unknown virus was identified in the US, warning about the likelihood of it infecting humans.

Outlining their concerns about its potential for spillover.

's biggest pandemic threats.

Dr. David Dyjack, a public health expert with the National Environmental Health Association, notes that a new virus like this could be a "threat to all of mankind."

He stated: “What matters to us in public health is that we have a virus with an exceptionally high mortality rate, and if it were to mutate and spread to humans, and then target the kidneys, as we've seen in some animals, that could pose an extremely significant threat to humanity as a whole.”

Potential complications that may occur include swelling of brain size, breathing difficulties, kidney problems, and liver damage.

The three challenges facing our world are the changing climate, the global pandemic, and the Camp Hill virus is right in the midst of pandemic concerns.

Several experts, including Dr. Donald Burke, an epidemiologist who predicted a global pandemic two decades ago, share a differing opinion, stating "it isn't likely to cause an epidemic."

The novelty of the Camp Hill virus means experts have more questions than answers, and the fact that its genome sequence hasn't provided valuable information regarding its severity or contagion yet.

Although it may have data suggesting the virus can infect human cells, Dr. Adam Hume, a virologist at Boston University, said to Wander Thoughts: 'That doesn't tell you whether it would cause disease or not, but if it is unable to enter human cells, then it is likely not to be disease-causing.'

Dr. Hume, who was not involved in the Australian research, added: "At this point we don't have enough information about it. Perhaps someday in the future, we will be able to determine [transmissibility and virulence].

As part of a study on mammalian aging in 2021.

Researchers analyzed tissue samples from the animals and found that the tissues contained genetic material from the Campylobacter jejuni virus.

The virus was mostly detected in the kidneys of shrews, which implies it would target similar organs in humans.

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‘This suggests that transmission from shrews to humans can take place.’

The Langya virus, similar to Camp Hill, Nipah, and Hedra, is a member of the henipavirus family. It typically causes mild symptoms, such as cough, fatigue, and fever.

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Scientists remain uncertain about the potential symptoms of Camp Hill virus in a human patient, but they can make some informed predictions based on the characteristics of other henipaviruses.

When someone comes into contact with bodily fluids from infected animals, consumes contaminated food such as fruits, or has close contact with an infected person, a protein on the surface of the virus binds to a protein on the person's cell membranes in various parts of the body, including the lungs, brain, and blood vessels.

When the proteins bond together, the virus connects with the host cell by fusing itself to it and transferring its genetic material to it. The virus thereafter takes control of the cells, causing them to replicate more of its genetic material and produce additional viral proteins that infect other cells.

There is some evidence indicating that henipaviruses can be transmitted through respiratory droplets, but this process is not yet fully understood.

Dr. Dyjack stated: "As we observed with Covid, it remained unclear in the initial stages whether this was traceable to external sources of infection on surfaces or whether it was airborne in nature. Subsequent findings ultimately confirmed that it was airborne."

"This raises significant concerns for me as a public health expert.'

Symptoms of henipavirus infection typically manifest within a five to three-week period following exposure to the bodily fluids of infected animals. It has a mortality rate of around 70 percent among infected individuals.

An infection caused by the Nipah virus can manifest symptoms in a relatively short time frame, usually between three to 14 days following exposure. This virus has a mortality rate of between 40 and 75 percent among those infected.

The issue at hand, according to Dr. Dyjack, revolves around the open question of how the virus mutates and which individuals it can potentially spread to.

He told Wander Thoughts: 'Viruses mutate at an unusually high speed. They might be isolated within a single species, but over time, the mutations that occur normally within the host organism, as we saw with COVID-19. To be frank, that's what worries us in public health.'

It is unclear whether shrews serve as the primary reservoir for the Camp Hill virus or simply as an intermediary host, while the actual reservoir is potentially another animal, like fruit bats, that transmits the virus to them.

If the virus were to mutate in specific ways within shrews, it could enhance its capacity to bind to shrew cell receptors, spread more effectively among shrews, and endure longer outside its host.

While some scientists, including those who discovered the virus in Australia, have raised concerns that it could cause a public health crisis, others do not think it poses a threat to humans.

Meanwhile, Dr David Quammen, a science writer whose book Spillover referenced Dr. Burke's forecast about the next pandemic, told Wander Thoughts: 'I'm not saying the discovery of a new henipavirus is not something to be taken seriously. It is.'

''It could be worrisome. Yet, at this point, if it's just been found in a shrew in Alabama, it's not alarming.'

The possibility of a henipavirus in shrews in Alabama is of far greater concern to me than the news.

Despite this, Dr. Dyjack believes the US has 'the right conditions here for the next pandemic.'

He stated: "We have a mammal carrying a virus for which there is no vaccine availability, and we are not necessarily monitoring for this virus, which means the clinical community is not prepared for it."

The conditions that might allow it to be transmitted to a human through a horse or a pig, and then for it to exist undetected in a human population for some time already exist in the US.

When exposed to other henipaviruses, a protein on its surface combines with another protein on the person's cell membranes in various parts of the body, including the lungs, brain, and blood vessels.

When the proteins combine, the virus pathogens merge with the host cells and transfer some genetic material into them. The virus then takes control of the cells to replicate the genetic material and produce more viral proteins that continue to infect other cells.

Dr. Dyjack added: 'There's more that we don't know than we know in terms of public health and human tissue health. On the surface, this is concerning, especially since the issue has been found within our own country.'

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