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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China bug - Is it Ebola-like bird flu? |
| 2005-07-28 |
| Reports have been going around for a few days of bird flu/Ebola hybrid virus as the cause (I initially thought it was Nipah virus). This is not a weird and unlikely as it may sound. New diseases are more common than generally appreciated, and the genetic evidence indicates flu and Ebola may have exchanged genetic material in the past. Latest is 10 cases in Hong Kong and 1 in Singapore, which appear to be the same thing, strong evidence that this is transmitting H2H. CHINA's official Xinhua news agency confirmed this week earlier wire reports about the mysterious deaths of 27 farmers in several villages around the cities of Ziyang and Neijiang in Sichuan province. Another 41 people in Sichuan have also fallen seriously ill. All victims had been exposed to swine and developed high fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and 'became comatose later with bruises under the skin', according to Xinhua. The provincial health authorities insist that 'the disease is absolutely not Sars, anthrax or bird flu'. Instead, they ascribed the outbreak to a common swine bug called streptococcus suis. Based on information from the Chinese, the World Health Organisation (WHO) agrees that the symptoms 'seem consistent with' the diagnosis. Could the WHO be wrong? Are the provincial authorities prevaricating? But, first, what is this bug and why are these Sichuan cases less likely to be it? According to The Merck Veterinary Manual, this is a bacterium that lives in the noses, throats, guts and genitalia of pigs. Thus, farmers exposed to droplets of swine saliva, as well as slaughterhouse workers, butchers, and cooks who have open wounds who handle pork and pig innards could become infected. Yet, despite its prevalence in pigs - up to 15 per cent of a herd could be carriers - human cases are rare as only one out of a total of 35 serotypes of the bacterium causes serious infections in people. In humans, the bug invades the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord causing meningitis, with severe headaches, high fever, vomiting, confusion, stiff neck, loss of hearing and coma. There can also be bleeding from blood vessels beneath the skin, and the patient can go into toxic shock, with damage to the heart. Sounds like the mysterious illness in Sichuan? A total of 68 patients in Sichuan sounds unlikely for various other reasons too. First, the bacterium is easily treated in pigs with penicillin. Though it can survive for long periods, it is also easily destroyed with soaps and dilute disinfectants. Secondly, the high mortality also makes the cause somewhat less likely to be bacterial in origin, as bacterial infections are rarely as lethal. Thirdly, the bug seems to spread between herds not only through the introduction of apparently healthy carrier pigs but also by flies, which can travel up to 2km between farms on their own. If flies got on to vehicles, they could go farther. Carcasses of dead pigs could also transport the bacteria. But up to 75 villages are affected in Sichuan. These are clustered around 40 townships in different counties, which represent large geographical distances. This suggests the possibility of transmission by migratory birds. Quite apart from the fear that pigs, which often carry the human flu virus, could contract bird flu and act as a 'blender' to speed up the process of its mutation, several facts suggest that the mysterious illness sounds a lot like influenza, some scientists believe. |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #1 I thought both pigs and birds have been implicated in the new flu viruses. Since 1918, that is. Pigs and birds swap s*it (not spit) and the virus mutates.... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-07-28 22:04 |