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A new virus discovered in the United States is raising fears of another potential pandemic, the Daily Mail reports.
The Camp Hill virus was identified by scientists in shrews in Alabama, raising fear that it could expand beyond animal reservoirs and infect humans, leading to a massive outbreak. The new virus belongs to a family of pathogens called henipaviruses, which includes the bat-borne Nipah virus that has a 70% death rate among infected patients.
The Camp Hill virus, however, hasn't yet been recorded in humans, therefore, scientists are unaware of its symptoms or potential death rate. The Langya virus, which crossed from shrews to humans in China, was the closest thing to Camp HIll infecting humans and resulted in several symptoms including fever, fatigue, cough, muscle aches, liver dysfunction and kidney damage.
"This indicates that shrew-to-human transmission can occur," said Dr. Rhys Parry of the University of Queensland, who confirmed the Camp Hill virus' presence in Alabama shrews in a report released last month.
"The discovery of a henipavirus in North America is highly significant, as it suggests these viruses may be more globally distributed than previously thought."
Researchers wrote that they were concerned about that "given the high case-fatality rates associated with henipaviruses," detection of Camp Hill virus in North America "raises concerns about past and potential future spillover events," but specified that more research was needed to determine whether Camp Hill virus threatened humans.