It is commonly known as the wetland virus, after it was discovered in a 61-year-old man in 2019 after visiting a large wetland park in Mongolia. “In June 2019, a patient presented with persistent fever and multiple organ dysfunction after a tick bite in a wetland park in Inner Mongolia. Next-generation sequencing in this patient revealed infection with a previously unknown orthonairovirus, which we named Wetland viruses (WELV),” the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) said in a report.
So far, 17 patients with this disease have been identified in Inner Mongolia.
The characteristic symptoms of the disease are fever, dizziness, headache, malaise, myalgia, arthritis and back pain. One patient presented neurological symptoms.
“WELV RNA was detected in five tick species and in sheep, horses, pigs and Transbaikal zokors (Myospalax psilurus) sampled in northeast China,” the research found.
After the virus was detected in the patient, more than 14,000 ticks were grouped and analysed. Ticks of the Haemaphysalis concinna species had the greatest potential to harbour the virus.
Is it deadly?
While symptoms of wetland virus infection are mild and mostly include fever, dizziness and headache, in some cases they can become severe. One patient fell into a coma due to a high white blood cell count in the brain and spinal fluid.
Laboratory experiments on mice have revealed lethal complications in the nervous system, indicating that the wetland virus can cause serious health problems and have harmful effects on the brain.
Other diseases that ticks can cause
Tick-borne diseases are widespread. Common diseases such as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (POW), tularemia, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are transmitted by ticks. Lyme disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne disease in the United States.
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