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New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

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  • New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus



    ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2009) ? For the first time a new study suggests that when exposed in their natural ecosystem, wild pikas (a species closely related to rabbits) are mammalian hosts of H5N1 subtype avian influenza viruses and may also be a source of transmission to domestic mammals and humans.
    The researchers from China report their findings in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Virology.
    Wild birds are the known natural reservoirs for the H5N1 subtype avian influenza virus, however, researchers are unsure of their role in the spread of the virus to other free-ranging wild mammals within their natural habitats. Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses are now endemic in bird populations throughout Southeast Asia and 391 human cases, of which 60% were fatal, have been reported since 2003. Although human-to-human transmission has yet to occur, H5N1 viruses pose a serious public heath threat.

    In the study researchers traced the circulation of the H5N1 virus in wild pikas and confirmed a natural H5N1 virus infection in their native environment. Genetic testing of the H5N1 virus isolated in pikas revealed two distinct evolutionary groups, a mixed/Vietnam H5N1 virus sublineage (MV-like pika virus) and a wild bird Qinghai-like H5N1 sublineage (QH-like pika virus).
    Further analysis of the MV-like pika virus found it to be the same as goose H5N1 virus. When tested in mice the MV-like pika virus was nonpathogenic, however, the QH-like pika virus was highly pathogenic in mice. Finally, in an attempt to recreate the virus infection of pikas, rabbits were intranasally vaccinated with the H5N1 virus of pika origin resulting in infection.
    "Our findings first demonstrate that wild pikas are mammalian hosts exposed to H5N1 subtype avian influenza viruses in the natural ecosystem and also imply a potential transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus from wild mammals into domestic mammalian hosts and humans," say the researchers.
    <HR>Journal reference:
    CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

    treyfish2004@yahoo.com

  • #2
    Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

    The American Pika is an endangered species.

    It has evolved into distinct sub species in 8 western states. See map here:



    .
    "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

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    • #3
      Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

      The study on the Pika's was posted here:

      ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
      Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

      ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

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      • #4
        Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

        Perhaps the press republished it to warn the public.

        .
        "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

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        • #5
          Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

          Nothing wrong with repetition of important information.

          It seems interesting because the H5N1 is found in a mammalian host.

          This could mean the virus could have adapted itself to mammals, including humans?
          ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
          Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

          ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

            Good point.

            Reading a little about the American pika, they mention that the substrains developed because climate warming has forced pikas to live at high altitudes - where they stay and don't mix. Those same mountain tops may be occupied by migratory birds carrying H5N1. Two higher- elevation birds that come to mind that summer in Alaska, but winter in H5N1 endemic areas are the Arctic Warbler and Northern Wheatear. They would mix with birds headed to the Western US for the winter - sharing the mountains with Pikas.

            .
            "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

              are they saying it goes pika2pika2...2pika(...2bird) ?

              any pikas in Indonesia ?

              I'm interested in expert panflu damage estimates
              my current links: http://bit.ly/hFI7H ILI-charts: http://bit.ly/CcRgT

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

                There are rabbits in Indonesia.
                ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
                Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

                ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

                  maybe it's B2P2P2B2H

                  Researching their range, I discovered they're in the mountains behind my home.

                  Their global range:

                  Click image for larger version

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                  .
                  "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

                    All you ever wanted to know about Pikas - http://www.pikaworks.com/pikas/index.html

                    Code:
                    Places Pikas Live  
                    
                    
                    Afghanistan
                    Armenia
                    Bhutan
                    Burma
                    Canada
                    China
                    Himalayas 
                    
                     India
                    Iran
                    Japan
                    Kirghizistan
                    Mongolia
                    Mt. Everest
                    Nepal
                     North Korea
                    Pakistan
                    Pamirs
                    Russia
                    Tadjikistan
                    Tibetan Plateau
                    United States
                    "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

                      Originally posted by gsgs View Post
                      are they saying it goes pika2pika2...2pika(...2bird) ?

                      any pikas in Indonesia ?

                      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pika
                      Northern Pikas eat dead birds. specifically, bird brains!

                      See: http://www.taiga.net/yourYukon/col105.html

                      (snipped)

                      Clinging to steep tiny meadows near the tops of the nunataks, these tiny mammals also have a most un-pika-like diet. Since favourite foods like willows and sedges are in short supply, they have learned to expand their menu; they still eat plants, but they also eat dead birds -- brains and all.

                      During spring and fall, storms blow migrating songbirds onto the icefields where they often die on the glaciers. The stocky little pikas scurry onto the glaciers and collect the dead birds, just as they collect alpine plants for drying.

                      "It's like manna from heaven that flies in every year," says David Hik, an ecology professor at the University of Toronto who has studied the pikas for several seasons. "Sometimes they even stack the birds like cordwood in their haypiles."

                      "We know that the pikas are eating the brains of the birds because of the neat little holes chewed in the back of their heads. Most animals, when they eat a carcass, will go for the guts and the brains. They're high in fat and proteins, and they're easily digestible."
                      .
                      "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

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                      • #12
                        Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

                        sounds like birds2pika2stop

                        do the sampling times and the dead-bird-times coincide ?

                        how would it go pika2pika , respiratory ? They are sniffling at
                        other pikas ? eating other dead pikas ?
                        I'm interested in expert panflu damage estimates
                        my current links: http://bit.ly/hFI7H ILI-charts: http://bit.ly/CcRgT

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

                          They are highly socialized and live in large "haystacks."

                          They eat plants that other herbivores won't and they eat their own poop! That is how it can unquestionably go P2P.

                          I believe only the Alaskan and Yukon (Canada) Pika's eat dead birds.

                          .
                          "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

                            A Pika picture!

                            "The only security we have is our ability to adapt."

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                            • #15
                              Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

                              you mean, they eat other pika's poop ?

                              What about Hamsters ? Guinea Pigs ?
                              I'm interested in expert panflu damage estimates
                              my current links: http://bit.ly/hFI7H ILI-charts: http://bit.ly/CcRgT

                              Comment

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