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[clhw AT infoave.net (clhw)]

These sound a lot like the potential for a pandemic from H5N1.
They can be caught by humans in close proximity to infected vectors like
horses, pigs and bats.

The bats part doesn't concern me .... much.... as long as our local bats
aren't catching it.

However, the swine reservoir is potential bad trouble. Most of you probably
know that the genetics between humans and swine is close enought that
viruses which mutate to affect hogs can become virulent for humans and a
new mutation develop through the susceptibility. And humans do have a lot
more contact with hogs than with fruit bats. Somehow, I didn't consider
contact with horses to be very frequent in Malaysia.

It would take several years for either of these viruses to develop into
something which is being spread in humans. The high mortality rate reported
in these two articles might fall with, as Lynda indicated, more medical
support at an early point, and something like washing hands and disposible
tissues and Lysol or clorox might prove fatal to the virus. Nothing
mentioned on shelf-life outside the reservoirs, like, if someone sneezes
onto the grocery cart I use, is there going to be live virus there 30
minutes later?

Just like SARS and Ebola, these are viruses to be aware of, but not panic.
I'd still like to have a better supply of surgical gloves, masks, vitamin C
and zinc lozenges, but I'm not running to lock the front gates. The next
danger point for my awareness is when cases are reported of human-to-human
transmission.
Lynn who is recuperating from a mild heart attack on 12/20, followed by
by-pass surgery on 12/21.

>This was news to me..I had not heard of these two, perhaps you have, but
>I thought I would pass it on.  IF there is a bat/pig/horse/human
>connection, it would seem that these viruses could easily spread around
>the world, and if so, we need to at least know of their existence since
>they seem to be pretty deadly.
>
>http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/nipah.htm
>
>  http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs262/en/
>
>Bev
>
>--
>BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm   NW Georgia USDA Zone 7