Friday 30 September 2022 04:02 PM New deadly Ebola-like virus that lives in monkeys in Africa is 'poised for ... trends now
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Scientists fear they've found the next big pandemic threat — a virus that lives in monkeys in Africa.
Simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV) causes devastating internal bleeding and kills virtually every primate it infects.
It hijacks the immune system, disabling key defense mechanisms and breaking the body down cell by cell.
No cases have been detected in humans yet but it is 'poised for a spillover', according to US researchers.
By developing tests and monitoring the virus now 'the global health community could potentially avoid another pandemic', they said.
Scientists fear they've found the next big pandemic threat — a virus that lives in monkeys in Africa. It is similar to the Ebola virus (shown in stock image)
Experts at the University of Colorado Boulder are raising the alarm due to SHFV's 'compatibility… with humans'. In a lab study, they found virus is able to latch on to a human receptor with ease and make copies of itself
Experts at the University of Colorado Boulder are raising the alarm due to SHFV's 'compatibility… with humans'.
In a lab study, they found virus is able to latch on to a human receptor with ease and make copies of itself.
Senior author of the study Dr Sara Sawyer said: 'This animal virus has figured out how to gain access to human cells, multiply itself, and escape some of the important immune mechanisms we would expect to protect us from an animal virus.
'That's pretty rare. We should be paying attention to it.'
In monkeys, SHFV causes fever, fluid retention in the body's tissue, anorexia, and hemorrhaging. The disease is almost always fatal within about two weeks.
It appears to attack immune
