New virus discovered: Transmitted to humans through tick bites

Chinese scientists have discovered a new virus that can be transmitted to humans through tick bites. The virus, named ALTNV, has been found to cause flu-like symptoms in some cases, while infection with another virus at the same time can lead to a more severe course of the disease.

TodayPress TV reports that the findings of the study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Scientists at the National Key Laboratory in Beijing studied more than 3,000 people who sought medical attention after being bitten by ticks. ALTNV was detected in more than 10 percent of them.

People infected with the virus mainly experienced high fever, fatigue, flu-like symptoms and gastrointestinal problems.

ALTNV belongs to the Nairoviridae family of viruses. Scientists detected the virus’s RNA in less than 2 percent of more than 47,000 tick samples. The main carrier of the virus was identified as Haemaphysalis longicornis, also known as the Asian longhorned tick.

One of the most notable findings of the study was the transmission of ALTNV to humans together with another tick-borne virus, DBV. While patients infected only with ALTNV generally recovered, the disease was more severe in those infected with both viruses simultaneously.

These patients experienced particularly serious complications involving the lungs and kidneys. Among the small group with co-infection, the mortality rate was approximately 18 percent.

Scientists believe that the increased risk of severe disease may be associated with the simultaneous entry of both viruses into the body. However, they stressed that further research is needed to determine the exact level of this risk.

ALTNV was detected using modern RNA sequencing technologies. Researchers identified the new virus while investigating the cause of illness in patients who developed high fever and other symptoms after tick bites but tested negative for known infections.

According to experts, the discovery of the new virus will help identify the causes of illnesses occurring after tick bites and enable dangerous co-infections to be studied more thoroughly.

Turkan Iskandarli