Deadly Virus Strain Discovered: What Does it Mean for WA, ID, UT?

I’m not a scientist, and most of us aren’t, but thanks to COVID-19 and the pandemic, when I see articles about a deadly new virus in the United States, I get nervous flashbacks.

The pandemic hit everyone differently, but it did affect everyone.

Now, there’s a report of a new strain of a deadly virus in the United States for the first time, and health experts don’t know enough about it to determine how it is spread and how to prevent it.

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A New Virus Was Just Discovered in the US: What Does it Mean for WA, ID, and UT?

The virus is a henipavirus, which is being called the Camp Hill Virus, and is reportedly similar to the Nipah and Hendra viruses. These viruses cause severe respiratory and neurological problems, with body pains and fever symptoms.

Nipah and Hendra have extremely high mortality rates up to 75 percent. The Camp Hill Virus was discovered in shrews in Alabama and hasn’t been reported in humans yet, but the discovery of the virus does pose a risk of human infection and epidemic.

An article from Harvard earlier this year reports a small breakthrough in developing medicines to fight the henipaviruses, but there is still no effective vaccine or treatment.

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The CDC reported on the first-ever case in the US in February. Their report shows that researchers had captured 4 northern short-tailed shrews in 2021 to conduct a study in Auburn, Alabama - at Camp Hill.

Currently, the only case was found in Alabama in a shrew species that mainly lives in central and eastern North America. But, the researchers believe the virus isn’t specific to shrews and could be spread between species.

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Additionally, since the virus is new and mysterious, there is fear that it could mutate and spread in different and unknown ways across the US. Live Science says the risk of the virus spreading to humans is 'likely low'.

Should We Be Worried About the New Camp Hill Virus in the Pacific Northwest?

Bats, pigs, and humans are also known carriers of henipavirus.

Will the virus make it out of Alabama, across the entire United States, and hit Idaho, Washington, or Utah? We don’t know. And that’s what makes it so scary.