Cats Likely Source of SARS, Say Researchers (Chinese delicacy likely source of deadly virus)

VOA News ^ | 5/23/03 | Katherine Maria

[ppaul]

A Hong Kong researcher says a wild animal considered a dining delicacy is the carrier of a virus that causes SARS. The finding fits earlier speculation that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome originated in wild animals.

Hong Kong University revealed Friday that the civet cat, a wild animal indigenous to southern China, is the likely source of the virus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Dr. K.Y. Yuen said researchers at the Shenzhen Center of Disease Control found four strains of the virus in a large percentage of civet cats. "From a special type of civet cat, we are able to isolate the coronavirus," he said, "and this coronavirus on genomic analysis was found to be very similar to the coronavirus causing SARS in humans. But if you cannot control the further jumping of such virus from animals to human, the same epidemic can occur again."

The civet, a small long mammal with short legs and a pointed snout, is a delicacy in southern Chinese cuisine. Dr. Yuen says the disease likely jumped from animal to human when it was being killed or prepared for cooking.

But the cats themselves do not display any signs of illness, according to Dr. Yuen, perhaps indicating their immune system might be geared toward controling the virus. Dr. Yuen said the finding might not lead to a vaccine or cure for SARS in humans, but he urged people in China to stop selling the animals in food markets to limit possible transmission of the virus.

In a separate development, the World Health Organization on Friday lifted its travel advisory on Hong Kong and the Chinese province of Guangdong. Hong Kong's leader Tung Chee-hwa welcomed the decision.

The advisory went into effect on April 2, when the WHO saw the disease spreading rapidly through Hong Kong, and no one knew why or how. Airlines, hotels and restaurants suffered huge losses, as tourists and business travelers deferred visits to the region and Hong Kong residents stayed home.

Detected in southern China last November, SARS started spreading in Hong Kong in early March. It was then carried to other cities around the world by airline travelers. The disease, which causes a potentially deadly pneumonia, has afflicted more than 8,000 people worldwide with almost 90 percent of cases occurring in China and Hong Kong. Globally, SARS has killed more than 700 people.

[geege]

Oh I love my kitties too.....even though once in a while they "kill" each other....such gentle little male puttys:0)

[daylate-dollarshort]

Oh damn!

I suppose that means I have to give up my fovorite coffee, Kopi Luwak??

The civet eats the fruit from the coffee tree, "processes" the fruit internally, and shi...."spits" out the coffee beans in neat little piles. The beans are collected and you have the makings for the most expensive cup of coffee in the world!

You do have to develop a taste for it, but MMMMmmmmm!

[P-Marlowe]

[cookcounty]

"So they traced the source. This still begs the question, was it natural or assisted? If natural, then why didn't it happen 1000 years ago?"

Maybe it DID happen 1000 years ago, but with diagnostics being prrimitive, they maybe said it was caused by looking at trees while crosseyed.

[The Pheonix]

I just read a History book, and it says that China had suffered many many famines, due to massive floodings of the Yangtze River, Droughts, negligence by the Emperors of old, etc.

This probably explains why the Chinese had learnt to eat so many varieties of animals. Why one's family is dying from starvation, why choices does one have ? To survive, you can't be too choosy

We are lucky to live in Land of Plenty

Let us thank the good Lord for this

And let us have a little compassion for the less fortunate of this Planet. AMEN

[The Pheonix]

why one's family= when one's family

why choices= what choices

sorry about the above typos

[Exit148]

"This probably explains why the Chinese had learnt to eat so many varieties of animals. Why one's family is dying from starvation, why choices does one have ? To survive, you can't be too choosy"

Somewhere I read that it is a "cuisine that evolved from hunger". I wish I had the exact words, and who quoted it.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Okay, I have to say it, do you really drink that crap?

[daylate-dollarshort]

"Okay, I have to say it, do you really drink that crap"?

What??? Do you think I'm that crazy?? That stuff is EXPENSIVE!!

A while back this sh...stuff cost over a hundred bucks an ounce. I saw recently that the price dropped to the fifty to sixty dollar range. Don't have any idea what the price is now.

I have never tried it, but my brother has. Someone in his office dared him. (He works in silicon valley) I asked him after he drank it, what his opinion was regarding the taste. You guessed it! "That stuff tastes like sh..." (well I'm sure you guessed it anyway!)

[NP-INCOMPLETE]

Barbaric? The chinese civilization is the oldest continuous civilization on earth, and they did lead the world in terms of technology and wealth for most of the last two thousand years. Sick? Yeah I agree with you on certain facets of that point.

[NP-INCOMPLETE]

That the Chinese are cruel and barbaric people has been a stereotype for so long that it maddens me that people would deny it or try to describe them as a great "civilization" or "superpower"

I'm assuming that you are not chinese. Cruel and barbaric are strong words to apply to an entire people. They did have a great civilization that certainly lasted far longer than any western civilization. As to their eating habits, its their business not ours.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Why don't people just buy some coffee beans at the grocery store and poop 'em out themselves???!!!

[lib-r-teri-ann]

I'm assuming that you are not chinese. Cruel and barbaric are strong words to apply to an entire people. They did have a great civilization that certainly lasted far longer than any western civilization. As to their eating habits, its their business not ours.

I'm assuming you are Chinese. Yes, those are strong words, and perhaps I shouldn't apply them to all Chinese folks. But, to put, my views in context, I also find Western methods of slaughtering animals inhumane and vicious, though no where near on the levels of the Sinos.

Their eating habits aren't my concern, though of course, eating companion animals who have a loving symbiotic relationship with mankind going back thousands of years is completely disgusting. I'm talking about slaughtering cats by dipping them in boiling oil, skinning dogs alive and other such niceties of what you worshipfully call "Chinese civilization". By any objective standard, that is barbaric, cruel and completely uncivilized.

[Minutemen]

Ahh So...... an ancient Chinese sage tells me: "SARS patient can be simply cured by victim sucking the green-snot from a dead salamanders' nose".............

[daylate-dollarshort]

Cannibal!!!

LOL........

[NP-INCOMPLETE]

though of course, eating companion animals who have a loving symbiotic relationship with mankind going back thousands of years is completely disgusting.

By whose standards,yours? What about our relationship with sheep or cattle or pigs, it extends back thousands of years as well, but we routinely slaughter these animals for food. I've eaten rabbit, snake, pigeons and dogs and the dishes are quite delectable.

I'm talking about slaughtering cats by dipping them in boiling oil, skinning dogs alive and other such niceties of what you worshipfully call "Chinese civilization". By any objective standard, that is barbaric, cruel and completely uncivilized.

You have no clue why they do this. This is because an animal has to be in state of great excitement before it dies. That way its body will be awash with adrenaline, it makes the meat extremely tender and delicious. While it would be painful for the dogs and cats, I agree, but it makes for a superb meal. There is nothing barbaric about enhancing the flavor of food.

[lib-r-teri-ann]

By whose standards,yours? What about our relationship with sheep or cattle or pigs, it extends back thousands of years as well, but we routinely slaughter these animals for food. I've eaten rabbit, snake, pigeons and dogs and the dishes are quite delectable.

By human standards, that's whose my Chinese friend. Maybe China will someday catch up to them. And human sacrifice also extends back thousands of years, that doesn't make it acceptable. Even when it comes to killing cattle or pigs, cruelty is unjustifiable.

You have no clue why they do this. This is because an animal has to be in state of great excitement before it dies. That way its body will be awash with adrenaline, it makes the meat extremely tender and delicious. While it would be painful for the dogs and cats, I agree, but it makes for a superb meal. There is nothing barbaric about enhancing the flavor of food.

Ok, excuse me while I puke. You think the above "justification" carries any worth? First of all the adrenaline reasoning is simple superstition, and secondly it carries no moral weight. Cruelty is ok so your food can taste good? What level of moral development are you on? If this is an example of "Chinese culture" you can have it. Once again confirms the superiority of Western culture...and I'm not even a Westerner!