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Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

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  • Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

    I really don't know what to make of this. The mutation they are describing is stated in the article itself to be nearly impossible, and the mention of zombies here is just bizarre. I also have no idea what forum to put this in.

    Is this someone's idea of a joke?



    Mutant rabies, flu viruses could lead to havoc
    June 26, 2011 DC Hyderabad .aaa.Shareemailprint..June 25: The rabies season has just receded. And it’s time now for the human influenza or common cold to make our lives miserable. Rabies and the common cold, though their effects on our health are very different, are both caused by viruses and there is no known medical cure for either. While the common cold subsides within a week without causing much harm, rabies has always proved to be lethal.

    Of late, with rabies and influenza, particularly the type of influenza caused by the H1N1 virus, creating panic in the state, scientists took time off to imagine the sort of scenario we see in those Hollywood flicks in which viruses mutate or hybridise to emerge as dangerous pathogens. The question they are now asking is: what happens if rabies and the influenza viruses exchange their genetic make-up and emerge as a new hybrid strain that has the properties of both rabies and flu pathogens?

    The answer is quite chilling, even though it’s improbable that this can happen. The new virus will create havoc, killing people everywhere and turning cities into graveyards. It could do this because the rabies virus would become air-borne (like the influenza virus), spreading through the air, unlike at present where it is spread through the bite of a rabid dog. “Rabies has been under check thanks to the stray dog control programmes by local municipal bodies, but if the rabies virus gets the traits of human influenza virus, which is capable of spreading through the air, nothing will stop it. But it is unlikely to happen though some scientists in the US believe otherwise,” says geneticist Dr M.N. Khaja.

    And since the “air-borne” rabies virus will find its way into the body either through the mouth or nose, death will be instantaneous or within a couple of days. “Unlike other pathogens that travel through blood or lymph, the rabies virus makes its way to the brain through the nerves. The nearer the route of infection of the rabies virus to the brain, the faster the death,” adds veterinary surgeon Dr Muralidhar.

    Some scientists visualise a zombie like situation in the world of humans if the rabies and human influenza viruses undergo hybridisation. The rabies virus, when mutated with the influenza virus, will behave like a zombie, with uncontrolled madness. The infected humans too will behave like zombies, according to a National Geographic report. To support its claim, the report says scientists in northern Arizona have found that animals, particularly skunks and foxes, are actually sprea-ding the virus through socialisation, that is, through the aerial route. Just by moving together with an infected animal, a healthy animal may be infected with the air-borne virus, not necessarily through a bite.

    “What is unusual is that this new strain of rabies appears to have mutated so that foxes and skunks are now able to pass the virus on to their kin — not just through biting and scratching but through simple socialising, as humans might spread a flu,” says the report in National Geographic News.
    In the Indian scenario, wild animals are spreading the rabies virus to domestic animals like dogs. Whether the virus is transmitted from wild animals to stray dogs through bites or socialisation is yet to be studied.

    But since the rabies and flu viruses have different genetic make-up, hybridisation between the two is theoretically impossible. But things can go awry when man meddles with natural laws, as he is prone to do. New pathogens and new diseases have evolved in the recent past and what once formed part of science fiction has now become a reality. Let’s hope, such a deadly strain with a combination of rabies and flu traits never becomes a reality.
    .

  • #2
    Re: Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

    Seems to be partly based on this Halloween themed article from October 2010

    "Zombie Virus" Possible via Rabies-Flu Hybrid?
    Highly improbable genetic tweak could create mutant virus..


    Ker Than

    for National Geographic News

    Published October 27, 2010

    In the zombie flicks 28 Days Later and I Am Legend, an unstoppable viral plague sweeps across humanity, transforming people into mindless monsters with cannibalistic tendencies.

    Though dead humans can't come back to life, certain viruses can induce such aggressive, zombie-like behavior, scientists say in the new National Geographic Channel documentary The Truth Behind Zombies, premiering Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society, which part-owns the National Geographic Channel.)

    For instance, rabies?a viral disease that infects the central nervous system?can drive people to be violently mad, according to Samita Andreansky, a virologist at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in Florida who also appears in the documentary.

    Combine rabies with the ability of a flu virus to spread quickly through the air, and you might have the makings of a zombie apocalypse.

    Rabies Virus Mutation Possible?

    Unlike movie zombies, which become reanimated almost immediately after infection, the first signs a human has rabies?such as anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, and paralysis?don't typically appear for ten days to a year, as the virus incubates inside the body.

    Once rabies sets in, though, it's fatal within a week if left untreated.

    If the genetic code of the rabies virus experienced enough changes, or mutations, its incubation time could be reduced dramatically, scientists say.

    Many viruses have naturally high mutation rates and constantly change as a means of evading or bypassing the defenses of their hosts.

    There are various ways viral mutations can occur, for example through copying mistakes during gene replication or damage from ultraviolet light.

    "If a rabies virus can mutate fast enough, it could cause infection within an hour or a few hours. That's entirely plausible," Andreansky said.
    Airborne Rabies Would Create "Rage Virus"

    But for the rabies virus to trigger a zombie pandemic like in the movies, it would also have to be much more contagious.

    Humans typically catch rabies after being bitten by an infected animal, usually a dog?and the infection usually stops there.

    Thanks to pet vaccinations, people rarely contract rabies in the United States today, and even fewer people die from the disease. For example, in 2008 only two cases of human rabies infection were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    A faster mode of transmission would be through the air, which is how the influenza virus spreads.

    "All rabies has to do is go airborne, and you have the rage virus" like in 28 Days Later, Max Mogk, head of the Zombie Research Society, says in the documentary. The international nonprofit is devoted to "raising the level of zombie scholarship in the Arts and Sciences," according to their website.

    To be transmitted by air, rabies would have to "borrow" traits from another virus, such as influenza.

    Different forms, or strains, of the same virus can swap pieces of genetic code through processes called reassortment or recombination, said Elankumaran Subbiah, a virologist at Virginia Tech who was not involved in the documentary.

    But unrelated viruses simply do not hybridize in nature, Subbiah told National Geographic News.

    Likewise, it's scientifically unheard of for two radically different viruses such as rabies and influenza to borrow traits, he said.

    "They're too different. They cannot share genetic information. Viruses assemble only parts that belong to them, and they don't mix and match from different families."


    Engineered Zombie Virus Possible?

    It's theoretically possible?though extremely difficult?to create a hybrid rabies-influenza virus using modern genetic-engineering techniques, the University of Miami's Andreansky said.

    "Sure, I could imagine a scenario where you mix rabies with a flu virus to get airborne transmission, a measles virus to get personality changes, the encephalitis virus to cook your brain with fever"?and thus increase aggression even further?"and throw in the ebola virus to cause you to bleed from your guts. Combine all these things, and you'll [get] something like a zombie virus," she said.

    "But [nature] doesn't allow all of these things to happen at the same time. ... You'd most likely get a dead virus."


    Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.
    Twitter: @RonanKelly13
    The views expressed are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other person or organization.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

      Maybe this provoked worries about rabies in India:

      http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/201...failure-india/
      Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis failure, India
      Posted on June 21, 2011 by Scott Weese

      A report from India of apparent failure of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis raises a significant concern. Few details are available, but it is reported that the affected person is currently in a coma, and if that is the case, death is almost certain. This case requires careful investigation, given the almost invariably fatal nature of rabies and the assumption that proper post-exposure treatment is basically 100% effective......
      _____________________________________________

      Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

      i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

      "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

      (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
      Never forget Excalibur.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

        Rhabdoviruses (that include the viral species of Lyssavirus (animal and human rabies) and vescicolavirus) have only incidentally human as host.

        From ICTV, http://www.ictvonline.org/virusTaxon...p?version=2009

        Order: Mononegavirales

        Family: Rhabdovirus

        Genus: Lyssavirus

        Typical species: Rabies Virus


        They have some structural affinities with Filoviruses (and thus I suspect some people have done unnecessary parallelism between rabid dogs and bleeding ebola affected gorillas...).

        Rabies is one of the oldest human fear and modern times won't affect their behaviour, result of millions of years of evolution.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

          Originally posted by RoRo View Post
          Seems to be partly based on this Halloween themed article from October 2010

          "Zombie Virus" Possible via Rabies-Flu Hybrid?
          Highly improbable genetic tweak could create mutant virus..


          Ker Than

          for National Geographic News

          Published October 27, 2010

          In the zombie flicks 28 Days Later and I Am Legend, an unstoppable viral plague sweeps across humanity, transforming people into mindless monsters with cannibalistic tendencies.

          Though dead humans can't come back to life, certain viruses can induce such aggressive, zombie-like behavior, scientists say in the new National Geographic Channel documentary The Truth Behind Zombies, premiering Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society, which part-owns the National Geographic Channel.)

          For instance, rabies?a viral disease that infects the central nervous system?can drive people to be violently mad, according to Samita Andreansky, a virologist at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in Florida who also appears in the documentary.

          Combine rabies with the ability of a flu virus to spread quickly through the air, and you might have the makings of a zombie apocalypse.

          Rabies Virus Mutation Possible?

          Unlike movie zombies, which become reanimated almost immediately after infection, the first signs a human has rabies?such as anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, and paralysis?don't typically appear for ten days to a year, as the virus incubates inside the body.

          Once rabies sets in, though, it's fatal within a week if left untreated.

          If the genetic code of the rabies virus experienced enough changes, or mutations, its incubation time could be reduced dramatically, scientists say.

          Many viruses have naturally high mutation rates and constantly change as a means of evading or bypassing the defenses of their hosts.

          There are various ways viral mutations can occur, for example through copying mistakes during gene replication or damage from ultraviolet light.

          "If a rabies virus can mutate fast enough, it could cause infection within an hour or a few hours. That's entirely plausible," Andreansky said.
          Airborne Rabies Would Create "Rage Virus"

          But for the rabies virus to trigger a zombie pandemic like in the movies, it would also have to be much more contagious.

          Humans typically catch rabies after being bitten by an infected animal, usually a dog?and the infection usually stops there.

          Thanks to pet vaccinations, people rarely contract rabies in the United States today, and even fewer people die from the disease. For example, in 2008 only two cases of human rabies infection were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

          A faster mode of transmission would be through the air, which is how the influenza virus spreads.

          "All rabies has to do is go airborne, and you have the rage virus" like in 28 Days Later, Max Mogk, head of the Zombie Research Society, says in the documentary. The international nonprofit is devoted to "raising the level of zombie scholarship in the Arts and Sciences," according to their website.

          To be transmitted by air, rabies would have to "borrow" traits from another virus, such as influenza.

          Different forms, or strains, of the same virus can swap pieces of genetic code through processes called reassortment or recombination, said Elankumaran Subbiah, a virologist at Virginia Tech who was not involved in the documentary.

          But unrelated viruses simply do not hybridize in nature, Subbiah told National Geographic News.

          Likewise, it's scientifically unheard of for two radically different viruses such as rabies and influenza to borrow traits, he said.

          "They're too different. They cannot share genetic information. Viruses assemble only parts that belong to them, and they don't mix and match from different families."

          Engineered Zombie Virus Possible?

          It's theoretically possible?though extremely difficult?to create a hybrid rabies-influenza virus using modern genetic-engineering techniques, the University of Miami's Andreansky said.

          "Sure, I could imagine a scenario where you mix rabies with a flu virus to get airborne transmission, a measles virus to get personality changes, the encephalitis virus to cook your brain with fever"?and thus increase aggression even further?"and throw in the ebola virus to cause you to bleed from your guts. Combine all these things, and you'll [get] something like a zombie virus," she said.

          "But [nature] doesn't allow all of these things to happen at the same time. ... You'd most likely get a dead virus."


          http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...virus-science/
          Why not Rabies+Ebola?!

          Classification of Ebola was in doubt at the first, and some suggested to include it into Rhabdovirus family....

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

            Originally posted by ironorehopper View Post
            Why not Rabies+Ebola?!

            Classification of Ebola was in doubt at the first, and some suggested to include it into Rhabdovirus family....
            I'm not sure what the fear of a Rabies/Ebola hybrid would be. Both viruses are already highly fatal, neither is really treatable, and neither spreads efficiently, so I can't see what properties such a hybrid would have that both viruses don't already have. Are we looking to make a virus that kills you twice?

            I suspect the mention of Rabies/Flu hybrids was a way of reminding the reader to take rabies seriously, as Rabies appears to be a siginficant concern in India. That's why I posted this in the Rabies forum and not a flu forum.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

              Rabies has an effective treatment option available: the immunotherapy and the vaccine. Although almost universally effective, some instances of vaccine failure happened.

              For this reason, several attempts to search other treatment ways were performed with differrent degree of success, until the so-called Milwaukee Protocol that may have saved a young woman from a fatal rabies infection.

              Here an abstract about a case of vaccine failure:

              Source: Science Direct: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...64410X89900108

              Vaccine

              Volume 7, Issue 1, February 1989, Pages 49-52

              doi:10.1016/0264-410X(89)90010-8


              Failure of rabies postexposure treatment in Thailand

              Henry Wilde*, Pravit Choomkasien?, Thiravat Hemachudha*, Chalida Supich* and Supawat Chutivongse*

              ?Ministry of Public Health, Kingdom of Thailand Thailand.
              *Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, Science Division, Thai Red Cross Society, Rama IV Road, Bangkok 10500, Thailand.

              Received 7 April 1988; revised 23 August 1988. Available online 12 November 2002.


              Abstract

              Three failures of postexposure rabies treatment using imported purified
              duck embryo cell and Vero cell rabies vaccines are reported from Thailand. Reference is made to eight additional previously reported Thai patients, six of whom had received human diploid cell vaccine. An analysis of these cases reveals that there were serious flaws in management in all of these patients. It is stressed that 45% of human rabies deaths in Thailand occur within 20 days of being bitten and 71% are dead within 28 days. This short incubation period does not allow much time to start immunotherapy. Of Bangkok dogs found to have rabies at autopsy, ≈8% have a rabies immunization history. Once a dog has bitten a patient immunotherapy should not be delayed in countries with a high incidence of dog rabies. Patients with chronic disease, alcoholics and drug addicts may have an impaired immune response to postexposure rabies vaccines.

              Keywords: Rabies; postexposure treatment

              -
              ----

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Mutant rabies and flu viruses could lead to havoc - Strange report in Indian newspaper

                Sorry I wasn't clear. Obviously, being bitten by a rabid animal is indeed highly treatable. The illness itself isn't really treatable once symptoms develop, with very few exceptions.

                Those exceptions, of course being the Milwaukee protocol (also referred to as Wisconsin protocol), but the total number of such survival stories worldwide is only a handful, including (plus the original case in Milwaukee in the pre-FT era):



                http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=141785 (possibly)

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