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What do you all think of this article? I find it worrisome. Sure, nothing has been proven yet - but....contamination or not....SE Asia is having some serious problems in this area.

(From Wired Magazine)

Samples taken from South Korean pigs contain genes from a human flu virus created by scientists in 1933, and one American flu researcher says the sequences could represent a dangerous situation for humans.

The World Health Organization, which monitors the worldwide spread of flu, is remaining mum until researchers finish an investigation of the pig samples.

The presence of a man-made human flu virus in pigs may be worrisome for several reasons. First, a man-made virus has no business in pigs -- did the virus get there naturally, or was it a lab accident? More frighteningly, but less likely, was it bioterrorism? Second, viruses often use pigs as a conduit to humans, who would have little or no immune resistance to this particular strain of flu since no one has been exposed to it.

"In terms of flu, pigs have always represented a danger to humans because these animals act as a mixing vessel for various strains of influenza," said David Thompson, a spokesman for the World Health Organization.

But WHO won't be convinced that the data is real -- that the human sequences are not a result of laboratory contamination instead of human virus in a pig -- until more laboratories can verify the samples.

Henry Niman, founder of Recombinomics and a researcher who has sleuthed the spread of bird flu and its changing genetic makeup for two years, says the investigation is moving too slowly. If pigs in Korea are carrying a man-made human flu, authorities should take action immediately to prevent it from spreading.

Sang Heui Seo of Chungnam National University in Daejon, South Korea, entered six genetic sequences from pigs into GenBank in late October. Niman came across the data in late November, and noticed they contained between three and seven genes from the WSN33 virus, which was created in 1933 by a London lab that was researching the 1918 flu pandemic. The London lab found that the virus could infect mice, indicating that it might successfully infect humans, Niman said. He reported the presence of the human WSN33 genes in Seo's samples to WHO officials in early December.

More of the article: http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,128 ... _tophead_3

Tombstone, tell you what I am wondering about all this, the latest scare here is the Avian flu, our goverment has admitted to preparing vaccinations for a quarter of the UK population 15million people. There is no outcry in the press it's hardly on the news, what is going on. I it got out that they had prepared even 10 antidotes for say Ricin then it would be all over the media.

Bothwell wrote: Tombstone, tell you what I am wondering about all this, the latest scare here is the Avian flu, our goverment has admitted to preparing vaccinations for a quarter of the UK population 15million people. There is no outcry in the press it's hardly on the news, what is going on. I it got out that they had prepared even 10 antidotes for say Ricin then it would be all over the media.
Hi Bothwell,

You bet. I've read a lot about the Avian flu - and it appears that WHO is on pins and needles about it. The survival rate is dismal - and would make the 1918 epidemic look tame.

It's an interesting world we live in!

You want to be really, really scared? REad 'The Satan Bug" by Alistair McLean. Or worse yet, "Earth Abides"

Both of those books show the possibilites of Biowar. It's 1000 times worse than a nuclear war.

The US has Botulinins right now that can wipe out a country in a single day. Just one test tube of the stuff is all that's needed. It's primate specific, so none of the animals would be hurt, and it's air-volitile, so you can walk into a country the next day, bury the bodies and take it over.

makes the Neutron bomb look like a Sunday picnic.

you really want a reason to hide under the bed? read this! Amazon.com: Books: Coming Plague, The : Newly Emerging Diseases in ... Amazon.com: Books: Coming Plague, The : Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett.

If this is the case, perhaps they should be concerned in higher production of anti-virals. Scary stuff, but fascinatinating. Virology is one of my favorite subjects. Beautiful little monsters. 1918 pandemic is something of great fascination to me, but I would never want to live through it; if mice were to become vectors of such a strain, the ramifications could be catastrophic.

Marburg Virus Kills 95 in AngolaThursday, March 24, 2005

An outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in northern Angola has killed 95 people, mainly children under 5, the U.N. health agency said Wednesday.



The World Health Organization confirmed on Tuesday that the illness was Marburg, a disease similar to Ebola . Analysis had identified 102 cases of the virus since October 2004, 95 of which had proved fatal. Angolan officials put the death toll at 98.



"Since the start of the outbreak, the monthly number of cases has progressively increased, but this increase could be the result of intensified surveillance," WHO said in a statement.



About three-quarters of cases have occurred in children under 5 and a small number of health care workers are among those adults infected, WHO said.



The outbreak occurred along Angola's border with Congo, in Uige province. Authorities initially feared the deaths were caused by Ebola, which still exists in nature in Congo.



"Marburg virus disease has no vaccine or curative treatment and can be rapidly fatal," WHO said. "In the present outbreak, most deaths have occurred between three to seven days following the onset of symptoms."



Previous outbreaks have indicated that the risk of infection is increased by close contact with bodily fluids of infected people, as may occur during treatment or burial practices, WHO said.



The health agency added that it is supporting efforts by Angola's Ministry of Health to improve infection control in hospitals and to intensify efforts to detect cases, as well as to improve public understanding of the disease and how it is transmitted.



"Marburg virus disease occurs very rarely and appears to be geographically confined to a small number of countries in the southern part of the African continent," WHO said. "When cases do occur, the disease has epidemic potential, as it can spread from person to person, most often during the care of patients."