First Virus Victims Ate, Handled Wild Game: Report

Reuters Health via Yahoo ^ | 4-3-03 | Anon

[Pharmboy]

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The first victims of the deadly respiratory virus spreading across the world were people in China's southern province of Guangdong who ate or handled wild game, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.

A top health expert in China said the earliest patients with the flu-like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangdong had close and continuous contact with chickens, ducks, pigeons and owls, the newspaper said.

"We will explore further if the disease was passed to human beings from wild animals. You know, Guangdong people like eating exotic animals, and I don't find it a healthy practice," said Bi Shengli, a vice director at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites).

The earliest cases of the disease were traced to either chefs or bird vendors, Bi said.

The potentially deadly virus is thought to have originated in southern China. Carried by travelers to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada and other countries, the virus is estimated to have killed 78 and infected 2,313 people so far. Many of those infected have since recovered.

Mainland China and Hong Kong account for most of the cases. The World Health Organisation and a growing list of countries have stepped up measures to keep the disease at bay and have warned people against traveling to affected areas.

The virus comes as a huge blow to Hong Kong, which has had to grapple with "bird flu" -- a deadly avian virus that jumped the species barrier to humans in 1997. It infected 18 people, killing six of them.

It's not known how that avian H5N1 virus jumped to humans.

Experts say SARS has nothing to do with H5N1, but they have not ruled out the possibility that it could be linked to other bird or animal viruses.

Scientists in Hong Kong believe SARS may be caused by a virus from the family of coronaviruses, which causes the common cold.

They say such viruses can originate from animals, although SARS looks nothing like any known human or animal virus.

However, the newspaper said Bi did not believe SARS had anything to do with coronaviruses.

[Pharmboy]

This would fit in with the rest of the facts so far; but science is an evolving thing, so this may not turn out to be correct.

Interesting nonetheless.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Chinese farmers live with animals in the house. All flu arises from China because of this practice. Time for the Chinese gov't to do some serious house-cleaning!!

[Pharmboy]

Interesting observation...

[aristeides]

If the virus is indeed, as reported yesterday, a combination of cow, mouse, and human coronaviruses, this story seems unlikely.

[Blue Screen of Death]

Chinese farmers live with animals in the house.

Yeah, lets find them wives. On second thought, a chicken will never order you to take out the garbage, complain about the toilet seat being up, stand in front of the TV during super bowl and ask if the snow shovel is broken, or come up with 32 page Saturday to-do lists.

[DTA]

>>>You know, Guangdong people like eating exotic animals, and I don't find it a healthy practice," said Bi Shengli, a vice director at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Perhaps he finds eating less exotic animals such as dogs more healthy practice.

[CathyRyan]

U.S. health officials say they now have a test to determine whether coughing, feverish patients have the mystery ilness from Asia.

The new antibody test isn't perfected enough to be given to doctors yet, but it is being used to help state health departments sort out whether they have cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

[Mears]

The thing that confuses me is that we were advised not to travel to China,Hong Kong,or Singapore but many planes are arriving here from those places on a daily basis.

This syndrome really frightens me because if it takes hold we could have another epidemic like the flu epidemic of 1917.Scary!!!

[scott7278]

"The first victims of the deadly respiratory virus spreading across the world were people in China's southern province of Guangdong who ate or handled wild game, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday."

Wash your hands and cook your food...wash your hands and cook your food...

[Pharmboy]

My co-worker just informed me that a 20k attendee oncology conference set for this weekend in Canada was just cancelled because of SARS.

[valkyrieanne]

Good heavens. Those Biblical proscriptions against eating "treff" birds (like owls) weren't so far off the mark, were they?

[blam]

"My co-worker just informed me that a 20k attendee oncology conference set for this weekend in Canada was just cancelled because of SARS."

At some point, SARS will replace the war as headline news.

[Pharmboy]

How the h*ll does a valkyrie know what traif means? ;-)

[blam]

"Good heavens. Those Biblical proscriptions against eating "treff" birds (like owls) weren't so far off the mark, were they?"

It's my opinion that all the "don't do's" in the good books of the world are there because all these problems have been experienced before. Homosexuality is bad because it causes AIDS and I believe humans have experienced an AIDS epidemic before, maybe in prehistory.

[Mamzelle]

re: stand in front of the TV during super bowl and ask if the snow shovel is broken)))

LOL. Will have to remember that one.

[blam]

"How the h*ll does a valkyrie know what traif means? ;-)"

This 'chip-maker' doesn't know and I can't find treff or traif in my dictionary.

[aristeides]

Toronto. That cancellation was reported on CBC last night.

[Pharmboy]

Sorry, man, but traif is the Hebrew word for non-Kosher. Pork chops or lobster are about as traif as you can get.