Kaleidoscope 2020: Many New Virus Discoveries Other Than COVID-19

Ilustrasi (Unsplash / Viktor Forgacs)

JAKARTA - New Year's Eve 2020 Chinese authorities have reported cases of COVID-19 for the first time to the World Health Organization (WHO). At that time, the world was introduced to a new type of corona virus. However, the discovery of the new virus did not stop at SARS-CoV-2. There have been a number of new viruses, or only recently revealed dangers, throughout this "pandemic year." Anything?

As quoted by National Geographic, there are at least 1.6 million viruses that are still a mystery and lurking about mammals and birds. And half of it has the potential to be transmitted to humans.

The number is just an estimate, calculating a mathematical model, but the threat is clear. Real. Six out of ten infectious diseases that attack humans are of animal origin. These include HIV / AIDS, Ebola, MERS, SARS, and most likely COVID-19.

G4 EA H1N1

Not yet after COVID-19 terrorized humans, news emerged of the discovery of a new variant of swine flu found in China. At that time, it was widely heard that this new virus would become the next pandemic.

Swine flu first appeared in 2009. And this G4 EA H1N1 is the mutation. This virus belongs to the genotype "G4" which has been dominant in the pig population since 2016.

As quoted by the BBC, scientists, who studied flu viruses in swine populations between 2011 and 2018, noted that about 10 percent of the pig industry workers they tested in China had been exposed to the virus. This is what makes doctors frantic.

The levels increased among younger workers, aged 18-35 years, "suggesting that the main G4 EA H1N1 virus has acquired increased infectivity in humans."

"Such infectivity greatly increases the chances of adaptation to the virus in humans and raises concerns about the possibility of a pandemic virus emerging," said the scientists who worked at several universities in China and China's CDC.

They suggest close monitoring of the pig population and anyone they work with. "Control of the G4 EA H1N1 virus in pigs and close monitoring of the human population, especially workers in the pig industry, must be implemented immediately," they wrote.

Swine flu, which first appeared in Mexico in 2009, is already considered a seasonal flu. But scientists say existing immunity to the disease does not confer immunity against the G4 virus, a new variant of swine flu.

Professor Kin-Chow Chang, one of the scientists involved in the study, told the BBC that even though we are currently busy fighting COVID-19, we still cannot let it go. "We must not forget the new potentially dangerous virus," he said.

Current flu vaccines do not appear to protect against them, although they may be adapted if needed.

Chapare

Then in mid-November 2020 it was revealed that there was a dangerous virus similar to Ebola in Bolivia, the name chapare. This virus was first discovered by scientists and is known to be transmitted from person to person in 2004.

As quoted by Insider, the name chapare is taken from the place where the virus was first observed in Chapare, La Paz, Bolivia's de facto capital. Last year, there were 5 cases of chapare virus infection in the region. And three of them were fatal.

Three out of five cases experienced by medical personnel who contracted it from patients who contracted the disease. Meanwhile, one medical worker who was suspected of contracting it while sucking the patient's saliva died.

Those infected with the Chapare virus have symptoms including fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and bleeding from the gums. Virologist from the US CDC, Maria Morales-Betoulle initially thought it was dengue fever.

"It's not always thought of a virus like Chapare. But if you don't find out, you won't find new possibilities," said Maria.

The virus can be transmitted to those who come in close contact with infected people, such as health workers and family members who care for sick people.

Although it has severe symptoms and can cause death, the chapare virus is not a pandemic threat. This is because the source of this virus is carried by small eared pigmy rice mice which are only found in a few areas of South America.

The new variant of COVID-19

Then in mid-December, news of the discovery of a new virus emerged again. The new COVID-19 variant in the UK is sending the world into an uproar again. This has even caused many countries to close travel to and from the UK, because the virus is said to be 70 percent more contagious.

Currently, there are at least many mutated variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The one from England has the official name variant B117 or VUI 202012/01, which stands for the under investigation variant with the code according to the time it was discovered, namely December 2020.

This virus has spread to many countries such as South Africa, Japan, Lebanon, Australia, Italy, Germany, and even to neighboring countries, Malaysia and Singapore.

Meanwhile in Indonesia itself, there was a new COVID-19 mutation that was different from the variant from England. The mutated variant of the corona virus is called D614G.

Researchers from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) found four mutations of the COVID-19 virus in Yogyakarta and Central Java. Through the FK-KMK UGM Genetic Working Group and the team has succeeded in identifying the Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) of four isolates from Yogyakarta and Central Java that are suspected to contain the D614G mutation.

The D614G mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 virus has 10 times higher infectious power and has spread to almost all corners of the world, namely 77.5 percent of the total 92,090 isolates containing the D614G mutation. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, 9 of the 24 isolates published have been reported to contain the D614G mutation.

Disease X

Until the end of the year, scientists' concerns never seemed to have subsided. The reason is, ahead of this they are currently researching the suspected emergence of a new virus in Congo, a country in Central Africa. They named this virus as "Disease X". X which means unexpected.

At first, as quoted by CNN, a patient in Ingende, a remote city of Congo, developed symptoms such as dengue fever. These symptoms also occur in people with Ebola. However, test results have not shown that he is infected with Ebola.

His identity has been withheld, to protect him from being ostracized by locals who fear Ebola infection. Her children have also been tested, but are not showing any symptoms for now.

The fear of a new, deadly virus was evident after patients developed Ebola-like symptoms as well. Because when the sample was tested with other types of disease, the results were negative. Until now this disease is still a mystery.

Scientists worry, what if the patient turns out to be patient zero of "Disease X?" What if it became the first infection of a new pathogen that spreads as fast as COVID-19 but with a fatality rate as high as Ebola?

Although it is still a hypothesis, Ingende Hospital Doctor, Dadin Bonkole said that it is not impossible to happen. Bonkole Ebola's eyes were previously unknown, COVID-19 was also the same. Therefore, he cautioned against the emergence of new diseases.