Langya virus does not present an imminent pandemic threat. But it’s important - because it’s yet another warning about the way we are changing the world. | Liam Mannix | ANALYSIS
. Before 2022 it had only been seen in tiny isolated outbreaks in Australia. When authorities detected the virus here in March it was too late - the virus had been spreading through pigs undetected for some time. Last month NSW government scientists quietly conceded the virus was now“We change the patterns of distribution of animals. We put animals and people in increasing contact. And viruses will mutate and jump species - as we’ve seen with COVID-19. It’s the next Hendra, the next COVID-19.
Holmes remembers thinking at the time ‘this is where the next pandemic starts’. He suggested to his Chinese colleagues a surveillance station be set up, sampling wildlife and market workers. The idea was never acted on. That’s a microcosm of a broader problem: globally, we aren’t doing nearly enough to stop the next pandemic.
“And it’s not until there’s huge numbers of deaths the money gets put into the situation,” says Stewart. She cites Hendra as the perfect example: authorities only started investigating when a human died. “We do not know how many horses got sick and were euthanised before the disease was identified,” she says. “In rural Australia, there’s a lot of cases of animals that get sick. Is the case getting identified - or is the animal being buried without investigation?”
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