Posted on 04/02/2013 11:51:08 AM PDT by Brian Kopp DPM
Nah! Rotting carcass’ in water never caused any problems!
Yet they keep telling us that diseases can’t jump species - Yes, it can! No, it can’t! Yes, it can! Yes, it can! Yes, it can!!!
I’ve noticed that the pictures of the pigs they’ve been showing over the past few weeks have been small pigs. Either they on’t have the large breeds we do here or the disease is striking younger ones.
Yeah, it’s not too surprising that they still have outbreaks of the bubonic plague there.
For all those who may be taking this lightly, we shouldn't discount the seriousness of this virus simply because we are seeing it so soon in its life. The speed of modern communication has somewhat unfortunately caused many of us to be cynical.
Yes, this new one has already picked up genetic segments, apparently from exposure in pigs, that makes it better at surviving and reproducing in mammalian (including human) respiratory tracts. They’ve never seen these gene segments in this type of avian flu outbreak in humans.
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I'm very concerned about this outbreak. In the past, I've not been apprehensive, but this strain may be the one that puts all previous nonchalance to rest.
China confirms 4 more cases of H7N9 bird flu
FOUR people in eastern Jiangsu Province have been confirmed as being infected with the lesser-known H7N9 bird flu, bringing the total number of infections in the country to seven.
The four, from four cities in Jiangsu, are in a critical condition and under emergency treatment, the provincial health bureau said in a statement yesterday.
The four were confirmed as having H7N9 avian influenza by an expert team summoned by the provincial health bureau, based on clinical observations, laboratory tests and epidemiological surveys, the statement said.
Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press
04/02/2013 8:57 pm EDT
Excerpt:
The new flu virus that has exploded onto the global radar is already showing signs that it is adapting to mammals, suggesting what was once a bird virus is now probably spreading in a mammalian host, an influenza expert said Tuesday.
And while it's not clear what that mammalian host is, the two most obvious choices are pigs or humans, said Dr. Richard Webby, head of the World Health Organization's influenza collaborating centre at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
"I think that's what's concerning about this ...This thing doesn't any longer look like a poultry virus," Webby, a swine flu expert, said in an interview.
"It really looks to me like it's adapted in a mammalian host somewhere."
Not good. Just wait until it hops on an airplane headed to LA.
Thanks for the ping.
Ping! (Thanks Dr. Brian Kopp!)
Yikes! My husband’s brother was in China on business and saw all the pigs floating in river. What a commie hell hole.
That's easy for you to say.
We all died of this last year.
For a little clarity, the “H7” in its nomenclature stands for “Hemagglutinin (HA) type 7”. There are at least 17 different HA antigens, numbered 1-17.
The first three hemagglutinins, H1, H2, and H3, are found in easily transmissible among people, human influenza viruses.
H1N1 was the type of flu that caused the Spanish Flu in 1918, killing millions around the world. But iterations of H1N1 since have been limited by “near immunity” in most people. The recent exception being the Ukraine H1N1 flu epidemic, which traumatized that region, with some of the dead having lungs so damaged they looked black and burned.
However, the flu with the most potential for an epidemic the likes of which has never been seen on Earth, the potential “thermonuclear bomb” of influenza, is H5N1.
A highly pathogenic avian flu virus of H5N1 type has been found to infect humans at a low rate. It has been reported that single amino acid changes in this avian virus strain’s type H5 hemagglutinin have been found in human patients that “can significantly alter receptor specificity of avian H5N1 viruses, providing them with an ability to bind to receptors optimal for human influenza viruses”.
And no one has even limited immunity to H5N1. There is no vaccine for it.
Which brings us to the other side of the equation, the “N” factor, which stands for “Neuraminidase”. There are at least 200 known kinds, the first four of which (N1-N4) have been around so long that parts of them have been integrated into the human genome. There are five other “N” factor subtypes, but only N1 and N2 are commonly found in people.
Put simply, the “H” factor is how the virus enters host cells, and after reproducing inside them and killing the cell, the “N” factor is how they get out of the dead cell before it is destroyed by the body.
All anti-viral drugs are designed to inhibit the “N” factor, to keep the virus trapped inside the cell until it is destroyed along with them.
While it is much less likely to become incredibly transmissible between humans, yet still retain lethality, like H5N1, H7N9 does have possibilities, perhaps by swapping genetic information with other influenza viruses.
Let’s panic next Tuesday. I have a rough week cut out for me.
We have it in the western US as well.
“We have it in the western US as well.”
Well, I’m gonna blame that on rodents from Mexico illegally immigr... I mean “seeking a better life”.
Credit where credit is due:
In the 1850's there was a Plague outbreak in San Fransisco's Chinatown.
It was detected early on by a local physician, who promptly reported it to City Hall, and recommended a rat catching program, quarantine, and general clean up of the area.
The city fathers refused to acknowledge that there was Plague in their fair city. It festered until the problem could no longer be ignored, and finally a cleanup of Chinatown was instituted.
But by then Plague had spread from the rats to the ground squirrel population. Now one can be exposed to the Plague anywhere in the western US.
Feel free to draw parallels to any more recent plagues...
Ah, that makes sense. If it was in the rat population, well they can only survive in proximity to us, so we could control it. With squirrels, we’ve got no such luck. Good thing I don’t live out West, because I like to feed the squirrels, they’re my buds :)
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