Friday, April 18, 2003
CAN THE SARS CORONAVIRUS
INFECT PIGS?
Scientists are now trying to determine if poultry and pigs are susceptible to the SARS coronavirus (see the story below). Given that pigs are already known to be susceptible to human coronaviruses (also see below), it would be a very lucky break if pigs are not susceptible to the SARS-associated coronavirus. Apparently Ontario, which still has not been able to control its SARS epidemic, has a lot of pigs to worry about if the so-called SARS coronavirus can infect swine.
4/16/2003
THE SEARCH FOR THE SOURCE OF
THE SARS CORONAVIRUS TURNS TO
POULTRY AND PIGS
By Charles Ortleb
According to an MSNBC and Associated Press story published today, "in experiments conducted at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands, scientists infected monkeys with the coronavirus suspected of causing of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and found that the animals developed the same symptoms of the disease that humans do."
The story notes that the latest research on SARS "will also help scientists trace the evolution of the virus and could help them determine whether it jumped from animals to humans — as researchers strongly suspect — and, if so, from which animals. Tests are ongoing in pigs and poultry to see how susceptible those animals are to SARS."
It would be very strange if pigs are not susceptible to the new SARS coronavirus, given how much coronavirus traffic there is between people and pigs. An abstract from a paper on coronaviruses paints a picture of a revolving door between people and pigs that coronaviruses seem to use with great ease. The following abstract from a paper in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases may have serious implications for the health of pigs in areas where SARS occurs:
"Sera collected from 2469 pigs in the Tohoku District of the Honshu Island of Japan were tested for various coronavirus strains (haemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus- HEV67N strain, human coronavirus- HCV OC43 strain, and bovine coronavirus- BCV K strain). Serum of inoculated mice was used as a positive control. Of the swine tested, 82.1% of the sera were positive for HEV-67N, 91.4% were positive for HCV-OC43, and 44.2% tested positive for BCV-K. The percentage of infected swine varied significantly among farms. The swine had inapparent infections, none showing disease from the HEV-67N infection. Antibodies to the human strain, HCV-OC43, were more prevalent in swine than the other two strains, suggesting transmission from humans to swine and vice-versa."
Click here for a database on SARS and pigs.
Charles Ortleb is the author of The Closing Argument and the co-author of The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Follies.
INFECT PIGS?
Scientists are now trying to determine if poultry and pigs are susceptible to the SARS coronavirus (see the story below). Given that pigs are already known to be susceptible to human coronaviruses (also see below), it would be a very lucky break if pigs are not susceptible to the SARS-associated coronavirus. Apparently Ontario, which still has not been able to control its SARS epidemic, has a lot of pigs to worry about if the so-called SARS coronavirus can infect swine.
4/16/2003
THE SEARCH FOR THE SOURCE OF
THE SARS CORONAVIRUS TURNS TO
POULTRY AND PIGS
By Charles Ortleb
According to an MSNBC and Associated Press story published today, "in experiments conducted at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands, scientists infected monkeys with the coronavirus suspected of causing of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and found that the animals developed the same symptoms of the disease that humans do."
The story notes that the latest research on SARS "will also help scientists trace the evolution of the virus and could help them determine whether it jumped from animals to humans — as researchers strongly suspect — and, if so, from which animals. Tests are ongoing in pigs and poultry to see how susceptible those animals are to SARS."
It would be very strange if pigs are not susceptible to the new SARS coronavirus, given how much coronavirus traffic there is between people and pigs. An abstract from a paper on coronaviruses paints a picture of a revolving door between people and pigs that coronaviruses seem to use with great ease. The following abstract from a paper in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases may have serious implications for the health of pigs in areas where SARS occurs:
"Sera collected from 2469 pigs in the Tohoku District of the Honshu Island of Japan were tested for various coronavirus strains (haemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus- HEV67N strain, human coronavirus- HCV OC43 strain, and bovine coronavirus- BCV K strain). Serum of inoculated mice was used as a positive control. Of the swine tested, 82.1% of the sera were positive for HEV-67N, 91.4% were positive for HCV-OC43, and 44.2% tested positive for BCV-K. The percentage of infected swine varied significantly among farms. The swine had inapparent infections, none showing disease from the HEV-67N infection. Antibodies to the human strain, HCV-OC43, were more prevalent in swine than the other two strains, suggesting transmission from humans to swine and vice-versa."
Click here for a database on SARS and pigs.
Charles Ortleb is the author of The Closing Argument and the co-author of The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Follies.
