Another Chinese Virus is known as “Cat Que virus” has been reported in China and Vietnam. According to researchers at the Indian Council of Medical research’s National Institute of Virology in Pune, this virus is in Culex mosquitoes and pigs. Due to the expanse of similar species of the Culex mosquitoes in India, this virus can be replicated.
Already the world is still fighting the numbers of COVID-19, which is increasing day by day. The ICMR scientists informed that this virus could cause disease in India, and even it can be as it grapples with the Coronavirus pandemic. ‘Cat Que Virus’ or CQV can cause febrile illness, meningitis, and pediatric encephalitis in human beings.
In 2014 and 2017, two samples for CQV tested positive, which came from Karnataka. The scientists discovered antibodies for this virus in two out of the 883 human serum samples tested across states.
According to the apex research body, domestic pigs are the primary mammalian host of CQV, and antibodies against the virus have been notified in swine reared locally in China, indicating that CQV has formed a natural cycle in local areas.
Research proclaimed in the Indian Journal of Medical Research in June stated that – Anti-CQV IgG antibody positivity in human serum samples tested and the replication capability of CQV in mosquitoes indicated a possible disease-causing potential of CQV in the Indian scenario. Screening of more humane and swine serum samples using these assays is required as a proactive measure to understand the prevalence of this neglected tropical virus.
Data showed that mosquitoes such as Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus were susceptible to CQV. Hence, mosquitoes were found to be a potential vector for CQV transmission to mammalian hosts.
Article Written by Dikhya Mohanty
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