New virus from chicken infects organ recipients, HIV patients
Scientists and health planners are now busy decoding the genetic secret of a new virus that is infecting human beings. The virus, originally present in chicken, is isolated from people who have undergone organ transplantation. Called the Human gyrovirus (HGyV), this human pathogen is isolated from a few people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus — or HIV. The virus is shed through human faecal route, too. It is not clear whether HGyV has passed on to human beings from chicken.
Researchers are trying to understand its prevalence and the health troubles it could trigger to humans. Over the past five months, two strains of HGyV have been identified in Italy and Chile. Research studies are yet to start in India to find its prevalence in the country. “HGyV can be present in the blood of infected persons, though additional studies are needed to investigate possible clinical implications,” says the report of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. HGyV is similar to chicken anaemia virus, or CAV. The diseases HGyV can cause in human beings is not clear, but its cousin, CAV, that infects poultry birds could cause haemorrhage.
Post new comment