- Cases have only been recorded in people in Japan, Russia and China
- They have been identified by the UKHSA as diseases that could enter the UK
Four novel pathogens – including one from the same family as one of the world’s deadliest – are currently being tracked by health chiefs.
None of the four diseases have yet been identified in Great Britain.
Cases have only been recorded in people in Japan, Russia and China.
One of the pathogens, a tick-borne virus called Oz, killed a woman in her 70s.
The UK health agency UKHSA identified them as part of its work tracking diseases that could enter the UK.
Four novel pathogens – including one from the same family as one of the world’s deadliest – are being tracked by health chiefs. None of the diseases have yet been detected in Great Britain
Oz is a type of thogotovirus that causes fever and brain swelling in infected people. It belongs to the family of Orthomyxoviridae viruses.
The Oz virus was first detected in ticks in Japan in 2018.
The country’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases confirmed in June that the first human case had been detected last summer.
Local media reported that an unidentified woman in her 70s experienced fever and fatigue and was diagnosed with pneumonia.
When the patient was admitted to the hospital, a tick was found on her thigh and she tested positive for the virus. She died three weeks later of an inflammation of the heart muscle, which Japanese health authorities attributed to the Oz virus.
Studies suggest the virus is widespread among people and animals in western and eastern Japan. According to local reports, it has been spotted on monkeys, wild boars and deer.
According to the UKHSA, which is closely monitoring the virus, there are no reports of cases outside the country.
The alarm has also been raised about the Haseki tick virus (HSTV), which was discovered in ixodid ticks and patients in Russia.
Further testing revealed that the virus is closely related to Flavi-like viruses, which are similar to those that cause the diseases yellow fever, dengue and Zika.
A hospital patient in Vladivostok, southeastern Russia, tested positive for the virus, but no further human cases have been reported.
Research suggests it is spreading among ticks in at least two regions of the country, but further studies are needed to determine whether ticks in other countries are also affected, the UKHSA said.
Coxiella burnetii is another emerging pathogen being monitored by the agency.
The beetle was discovered in marine mammal species.
The UKHSA said discoveries in fur seals in Australia in June revealed mutations that could cause the animals to miscarry and allow the infection to spread to humans.
Another tick-borne virus that is being studied is the Yezo virus, which was discovered in Japan in 2021.
It is an orthonairovirus that belongs to the same family as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever – a disease caused by a tick-borne virus that kills up to half of those infected and causes uncontrollable bleeding.
It was also discovered in a patient hospitalized with the virus in northeast China. According to the UKHSA, symptoms of infection include fever.
The Yezo virus was also detected in some patients in Japan, although their illness was milder, it was said.
The UKHSA told MailOnline: “As part of our established global surveillance of emerging infections, we regularly monitor reports of novel pathogens or new strains linked to known pathogens in other countries.”
“None of these infections have been detected in the UK.”