Little-understood v6irus infects avian species, believed to be capable of spreading to humans

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/24
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Tembusu virus, a mosquito-borne virus that could be transmitted to humans, has been reported in Taiwan for the first time, according to the Animal Health Research Institute (AHRI).

The virus was first detected at a duck farm in December last year during a government investigation into reduced egg production, said AHRI Director Chiu Chui-chang (邱垂章).

According to the official, the waterfowl at the farm had been laying eggs at an unsatisfactory rate, but they had not been found to have contracted any known disease. It took genome sequence mapping to identify the virus in the birds, wrote CNA.

In 2010, the Tembusu virus was identified as the culprit behind an outbreak at a number of duck farms in eastern China that reported a drop in egg production. Symptoms include anorexia, diarrhea, rhinorrhea, and paralysis.    [FULL  STORY]