Comments on: Why the swine flu virus is a danger to humans

By: ZOLENGTHE » Blog Archive » 4 NE states ban pig import

ZOLENGTHE » Blog Archive » 4 NE states ban pig import — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:07:20 +0000

[...] Why the swine flu virus is a danger to humans (blisstree.com) [...]

By: Swine Flu Global Pandemic declared : Genetics & Health - Your Genes - Your Life - Your Health

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:16:06 +0000

[...] virus is a combination of three viruses – human, swine and avian, and that made it particularly dangerous to humans as there is no immunity, nor vaccine (to date), to this [...]

By: Lala

Lala — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:08:53 +0000

Yeah man..

By: mohamed-ethiopia

mohamed-ethiopia — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:29:49 +0000

i think swine flu is coming from (pig) so, consuming the meat of pig is totally forbidden in any religoin . so i advice those people who are comsuming the meat of pig to stop.
mohamed Ahmed-ethiopia
E-mail:gataa2004@hotmail.com

By: Grace Ibay

Grace Ibay — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:35:58 +0000

Hashana, do you mean if this virus was artificially created in a lab? I don’t know and I don’t know that there’s a way to tell. Probably if one goes back to sequencing the virus, but I’m not an expert so I would not know the answer to that. As it is, the host (pig) is a very probable source, and a sick pig could have transferred the virus to other pigs nearby and to people coming in contact with the sick animal.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:08:44 +0000

Is the real concern that as this flu circulates into the warmer regions of the world that a reassortment could occur and a more virulent strain could arise? I feel like this is why the WHO and CDC are tracking this so closely.

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 04 May 2009 05:41:47 +0000

I have heard rumours of this swine flu being introduced as a terrorist act instigated by the Middle East (some people say China and North Korea too). I think the best answer is always the obvious one. There are many pig farms in Mexico and pork is a popular meat there. Porcine vaccine and treatment are probably less stringent practices in Mexico than in the US. Grace’s earlier intelligent and thoughtful answer seems to me the obvious one. With the economic slump it is the worst timing for such a global outbreak, but I think odds are hugely in favour of coincidence in this case. Other serious flu strains have come and gone in recent years without much news coverage, not to mention the common strains that migrate to the US each year. There are always casualties. The timing was unfortunately ripe for a new news media frenzy, now that we are all WAY over hearing about the economy. I am in the tourist industry and I have seen a mild impact already due to this scare. I expect it to get a bit worse if the media finds something else to terrorize us with and a lot worse if they don’t. I think the really dangerous viral infection is the heavy dependence of the news media on advertising dollars and the consolidation of media ownership into large corporations. With those kind of friends, who needs terrorists?!

By: Hashana

Hashana — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:00:34 +0000

Grace,
Do you think it’s possible this particular (mixed) viruses origin could have been a result of a “created” genetic modification of the flu virus?
thanks

By: Grace Ibay

Grace Ibay — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:22:54 +0000

Seth, unfortunately pigs are naturally occurring “mixing vessels” of influenza viruses. The surface of the skin cells inside the trachea of pigs have a molecule that can bind to molecules on the cell surfaces of human and avian flu viruses. If any two of avian, human and swine viruses are present at any one time in a pig, then it’s a convenient ‘petridish’ for reassortment of a new strain of virus. That’s what we have with the current outbreak.

By: Seth

Seth — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:23:27 +0000

Grace,

Is the genetic combination of Bird, Swine, and Human Influenza a natural occurence?