Scientists confident of SARS link {SARS spread by cockroaches!}

The Baltimore Sun ^ | 11 April 2003 | Julie Bell

[Vigilant1]

Evidence of new virus found in stool samples, journal report says

Scientists working to identify the cause of a mysterious respiratory illness that has killed 111 people worldwide are now almost certain that it is associated with a new kind of coronavirus, a family of viruses also responsible for the common cold. One of two groups of scientists whose findings were published online yesterday in separate New England Journal of Medicine articles also said they had found genetic evidence of the virus in some victims' stool samples.

The finding lends support to a previously advanced theory that the virus might spread via cockroaches that have had contact with sewage, said Dr. Peter B. Jahrling, a U.S. Army virologist whose Fort Detrick laboratory is working to find drugs that might be effective against the infection.

[lizma]

But seriously, I did a search today on the issue of "fecal spray" from public toilets

Why??

Dave Barry did an essay on this years ago. Haven't let my toothbrush stay on the counter since then. Yuck.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

And the people at Taco Bell had the nerve to get mad when I told them to forget my order when I saw they didn't wear gloves!

I called the health dept. when I saw them building my tacos with their bare hands. They came out the same day and put the smack down on them. I checked about a week later and they all had the gloves on. The first time the gal was taking money and making tacos with the same unwashed/no glove hands.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Hmmm. Didn't think of that one. Good for you!

[TheLion]

Bump

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Cockroaches responsible for SARS spread. Hmmm. I knew somehow this would be linked to the Clintons.

[CyberAnt]

Here is the name of the thread where I read about SARS being a combination of measels and mumps:

Academician Kolesnikov: The Virus of Atypical Pneumonia Has Been Created Artifically (SARS)

[John Twenty 28]

Julie L. Gerberding, the CDC's director, said it was still too early to draw a final conclusion about the cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

"We are increasingly confident we are dealing with a new coronavirus," she said. But she added, "While we've seen evidence of the virus and we've seen evidence of pneumonia, we haven't seen them both in the same tissue."

This suggests the following to me:

1. They've looked at lung tissue affected by SARS pneumonia and haven't found an infection, bacterial or viral.

2. The lung damage may be caused by toxin created elsewhere in the body by the SARS infectious agent.

This (2) isn't unheard of in nature, but at least raises the possibility of genetic engineering as the source of the infectious agent.

[Dave278]

I know a guy who works in a narcotics task force Office. They do consent searches of people and luggage at the bus station in Lubbock Tx. One time, they had a crack dealer that had 5000.00 cash rolled up and stuffed in his butt. Most of the money was in 20's. They treated the money as a bio-hazard and had even more trouble getting it deposited in the bank. True story. Cash Money is very dirty. I hate to handle it.

[lizma]

I've read a few recent reports that say it might not be an airborne infection.

A lot of viruses can be spread by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your nose or mouth.

[Amelia]

Read this thread.

Read this whole thread.

More than you ever wanted to know about a whole bunch of things.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

The theory might be accurate, except for that American co-worker who came down with it yesterday...she got it from one of the workers.

[Dog Gone]

So, where do you stand (or sit) on this issue?

[Vigilant1]

In all cities everywhere, coackroach infestations are endemic. When cockroaches feed on people's food, they may infect it with SARS, then the infection is passed to humans. And think about infants loose in the average cockroach-infested low-income urban household, what they find on the floor & eat, and how they crawl using their hands, and then put their hands in their mouth. Once the cockroaches have infected one person, the spread of SARS in their family, their group of friends, their apartment building, their workplace, the shopping malls they visit, movie theaters, etc., is just about assured.

You guys can joke about this all you want, but I hope you're not too thick to see what a potent infection vector coackroaches will be for the SARS virus. There have been no SARS deaths in America yet because the most serious cases can be kept alive on respirators. What happens when the infection spreads and we run out of respirators? People start dying. And when the hospital staffs and doctors get infected, there is the potential for a collapse of our health care system.

GW has signed an EO granting martial-law-like powers to the fedgovthugs for quarantene purposes (I understand the necessity for this). When people panic and refuse to obey, those orders will have to be backed up by guns and riot-control methods. I don't think we really grasp what kind of disaster could be unfolding before us.

And thanks to Nita for the toliet aerosol cloud info. I keep a can of Lysol on my toliet; now a squirt goes into the bowl and the lid gets closed before every flush.

[deport]

Yep you are correct... more than I want to know about a lot of things.....

[Nita Nupress]

Thanks alot, I already carry hand sanitizers, don't touch railings, public phones (yuk) or use the air blowers in restrooms to dry my hands (they just blow the dirty air back on your hands).

You and me both.  I've gotten to where I carry the alcohol gel with me just about everywhere I go.
 

So here's one for you to think about. Did you know that bowling balls carry the most fecal matter out of them all?

I've never thought of bowling balls.  Wow. That makes a lot of sense.  Fecal material gets caught under fingernails rather easily.  I know that most hospitals have strict standards now about healthcare workers and fingernails... No false nails.  They must be no longer than finger-length.  Etc., etc.  There is a reason for that.

And the people at Taco Bell had the nerve to get mad when I told them to forget my order when I saw they didn't wear gloves!

I have to be really hungry to eat at a fast food place anymore.  After I saw the Burger King worker come out of the restroom stall after pooping and walking out without washing her hands, that just about did it for me. I just can't think of many things more disgusting than that!

[riri]

I have gotten to the point where my two year old leaves somewhere and he says "hands?" and puts out his hands waiting for the gel...talk about neurotic.

[Nita Nupress]

Why??

Because I have a teenage child who is always sick because he never washes his hands and has a constant habit of putting his hands up to his face. Research shows that people who do this have a higher rate of catching colds, but since when do teenagers listen to clinical research? Especially from their mothers.

I'm looking for something as gross as possible so maybe he'll listen. :-)

[Scenic Sounds]

Thanks for the ping.

I know now that I just can't go back to my old ways. You've changed my entire life, Amelia.

Thanks again. ;-)

[CJ Wolf]

THEY ARE WRONG

[T'wit]

> We must educate people to quit licking cockroach trails.

Now, by golly, there is more sage advice in few words than you get in an entire year of the New York Times.