A new virus causing respiratory, kidney, skin and reproductive problems has been detected for the first time in France in a patient undergoing immunosuppressive treatment.
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This is the first discovery of a circovirus in humans. Identified in animal species in the 1970s, this family of small DNA viruses raised concern in the scientific community, who documented the discovery in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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mysterious hepatitis
The Institut Pasteur, the research group that discovered the virus, says that “although transmission of animal viruses to humans is regularly reported in the scientific literature, it is rare for a new virus to be identified in a patient in Europe.” .
This virus, tentatively named Human Circovirus 1 (HCirV-1), was discovered in a 61-year-old woman who developed unexplained hepatitis.
“She had a double heart and lung transplant 17 years ago. We were able to access many samples over several years,” explains Marc Eloit, one of the authors of the study on the circovirus and head of the Pathogen Discovery laboratory at the Pasteur Institute.
Samples of infected tissue were taken from the woman for sequencing. This process allowed the researchers to identify the DNA sequence of the virus. The virus caused damage to his liver by infecting 2-3% of his cells.
The origin of the circovirus has not yet been identified, nor has its source of infection.
The woman was able to recover with antiviral treatment.
Better Diagnosis
A specific PCR test was developed to diagnose hepatitis of unknown origin.
“In order to adapt the treatment and follow-up of patients, it is essential for us to know the cause of the hepatitis and, in particular, whether it is viral,” estimates Anne Jamet, another collaborator on the study.
Note that according to the WHO, many children in the UK and Ireland contracted acute hepatitis last April.
While there is a vaccine against circoviruses for some animals, there is currently no treatment available to immunize humans.