Swine Flu Jumps Back to Pigs and Keeps Evolving

[n2doc]

By Brandon Keim June 17, 2010 | 2:00 pm | Categories: Biology, Health


A new strain of swine flu shows that the pandemic version has jumped from humans back to pigs, where it’s evolving in new and unpredictable ways.

The new strain, identified in a Hong Kong slaughterhouse, isn’t especially virulent. But the findings emphasize the need for continued vigilance. Swine flu isn’t going away.

“Hoping for the best while preparing for the worst seems a sensible strategy,” said University of Hong Kong virologist Malik Peiris. The strain is described June 18 in Science.

Peiris and study co-author Yi Guan are best known for identifying the SARS virus and helping to contain its 2003 outbreak. They were also among the researchers who identified swine flu’s origins after its outbreak last year.


Technically known as H1N1/2009, swine flu’s popular name hinted at its ancestry: a fusion of two swine strains, one from Asia and another that had erupted in the 1990s on U.S. factory farms.



Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/swine-flu-evolves/

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[NJmaverick]

2. The fact of the matter is, this is nothing new

this process has been going on for 100s of years.

[Davis_X_Machina]

3. 100's of years? I didn' think the....

...pharmaceutical firms -- you know, the ones who manufactured the virus so they could sell worthless vaccines and dangerous antivirals to all of us -- were that old.

The Truth is Out There -- so far out there that it's stuck in a GD thread.

[NJmaverick]

4. I am in the public health field and sat through more than one lecture

from leading epidemiologists lecturing on influenza. So when I read an article like this, I am just hearing what I had already been taught is the natural cycle of the various strains.

[MineralMan]

6. Oh, probably much longer than 100s of years.

As long as pigs have been around, they've been getting the flu. So have people. The flu viruses didn't just pop up in 1918, you know. Truly.

Swine have flu. Humans have flu. Birds have flu. In reality, every species has one virus or another causing them misery from time to time. Do you suppose that's a new thing? Really? Are you also a Young Earth Creationist?

The flu virus and other viruses have been around since life began. It's all part of the big life thing. We're alive. Pigs are alive. Viruses are...well...sort of alive.

These days, we can immunize ourselves against some viruses. Too bad that technology wasn't around 100 years ago. Lots of people would have lived through that epidemic. I'm sure glad I can line up for my flu shot every year.

Still, you're welcome not to. I won't bring you Kleenex and hot soup though.

[NJmaverick]

8. Immunization, like energy conservation is more than just a personal choice

just as the collective decision not to be energy efficient can hurt our nation, the choice not to be vaccinated aids a virus's ability to spread. So when you vaccinate yourself you are protecting others (the ones you may potentially infect such as family, friends, coworkers and even strangers) as well as yourself.

[MineralMan]

9. You are correct, of course. However, forcing immunization isn't

really the way we do things. Fortunately, enough people are sensible enough to take advantage of vaccination to provide some herd immunity. Those who lack the intelligence or good sense represent a minority, pretty much.

So, I say let the morons eschew vaccination and catch the damn flu. Perhaps they'll learn from their experience. They certainly do not have the numbers to stop vaccination programs from happening, so they're irrelevant, as usual.

In America, you're free to be as stupid as you damn well please. I'm not really sure I want to change that. Instead, I think I'll hang around and point out the stupidity of the antivaxxers whenever I find it.

[TZ]

11. Unfortunately some people, like my sister with Lupus

can't get the vaccine because of her illness. So the stupid anti- vaxxers put people like HER in danger because of their stupidity. They are NOT harmless.

[MineralMan]

12. You have a good point there.

[TZ]

10. As someone whose company actually helped manufacture

the H1N1 vaccine, I can tell you the viri was NATURAL and in fact related to the swine flu outbreak in the 1070's. My company didn't even EXIST then, doofus. This is the SCIENCE FORUM. Not the woo woo paranoid conspiracy theory bullshit forum. Take your crap elsewhere.

[Johonny]

13. This is one of the best posts EVER!!

Yes BIG Pharm created the flu less than 100 years ago to make money selling people flu vaccines that don't work. They did this right after creating Polio, HIV and autism. Before big pharm people only got sick from getting toads or toadstools stuck in their stomach or the occasional blood imbalance that needed to be cured by leeches. The truth is out there.

[trotsky]

5. More like millions or even billions!

Swapping DNA & RNA has been going on since the primordial soup.

[NJmaverick]

7. true, I was being very conservative in my numbers