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  • Treyfish
    replied
    PHAC president given until Friday to explain why two scientists were let go

    Joan Bryden
    Published Monday,March 22, 2021 9:08PM EDT

    OTTAWA -- The president of the Public Health Agency of Canada has been given until the end of the week to explain why two Canadian government scientists were let go 18 months after being escorted from Canada's only Level 4 laboratory.

    Iain Stewart came under fire Monday from opposition MPs after he repeatedly refused to explain why PHAC terminated the employment of Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, in January.

    Stewart told the special committee on Canada-China relations that he could not provide details due to privacy issues and "security with respect to the investigation" still being conducted by the RCMP....

    ....The pair were escorted out of the National Microbiology Laboratory in July 2019 over what was described as a possible policy breach and administrative matter.

    The Winnipeg lab is Canada's highest-security laboratory, designed to deal safely with deadly contagious germs such as Ebola....

    ..PHAC has said their escorted exit had nothing to do with the fact that four months earlier, Qiu had been responsible for a shipment of Ebola and Henipah viruses to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology....https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/phac...t-go-1.5358099

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    16 diseases from eyebleeding fever to explosive diarrhoea that could be the next Covid


    The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an organisation founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and several nations, has published the list of diseases
    • By
    Milo Boyd
    Reporter
    • 23:04, 22 MAR 2021
    Diseases which could "shatter" civilisation if they were to begin spreading have been identified in a new report.

    The 16 illnesses have emerged in countries across the world and have the potential to trigger a new pandemic, it has been claimed.

    While some are well known to those in the West, such as E. coli and HIV, others are less known but just as deadly, with one causing bleeding from orifices and another brain swelling.

    The diseases have been highlighted in a report published by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an organisation founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and several nations.....

    "And any of these could be the next Covid, or worse."

    Highlighted in the report are coronaviruses other than Covid-19, which could rip through the world's populations with even deadlier consequences.

    It warns: "The emergence of a coronavirus combining the transmissibility of Covid-19 with the lethality of SARS or MERS would be civilisation-shattering."....

    16 diseases which could cause the next pandemic
    • E.coli 0157:H7 - A bacteria found in food, often in milk and ground beef
    • Cyclosporiasis - An intestinal illness caused by eating food contaminated with parasite
    • Whitewater arroyo virus - Viral infection found in wood rats that can cause liver failure
    • Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome - A respiratory disease carried by rats which kills a third of patients
    • HIV - A virus attacking the body's immune system which can lead to AIDS, an auto-immune disease
    • Nipah - This disease causes severe brain swelling, seizures and vomiting
    • Hendra virus - Passed from flying-foxes to horses and then to humans, it has a 70% fatality rate
    • Ebola - A viral fever which can lead to red eyes and unexplained bleeding
    • Marburg - A viral hemorrhagic fever in the same family as Ebola
    • Hepatitis C - A blood borne illness which can cause liver cancer
    • Lassa fever - A potentially fatal condition which causes facial swelling, bleeding from the mouth, nose and vagina
    • SARS - An airborne coronavirus which spreads in a similar way to flu that has been eradicated in humans, but could be passed back through animals again
    • Cryptosporidiosis - A diarrheal disease that can live in the intestines of humans and animals as well as in warm water
    • vCJD - A brain disease passed on through eating infected beef which can cause psychiatric problems, behavioural changes, and painful sensations.
    • H5NI Influenza - A highly infectious strain of bird flu which attacks the respiratory system
    • Enterovirus 71 - A neurological disease which can cause hand, foot and mouth disease in children

    ....https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...osive-23776174

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    The next pandemic: Ebola?


    19 March 2021 ? by Priya Joi

    Ebola has so far only affected African countries and occasional cases outside of the continent have been rapidly contained. But the virus could mutate to spread more easily between people, making it more of a pandemic threat.

    A town square dedicated to Isaac Newton in Reston, Virginia seems like an unlikely place for an Ebola outbreak, but that?s exactly what happened around 30 years ago. In 1989, the Reston Primate Quarantine Unit looked after monkeys imported for scientific research and educational purposes. When dozens of macaques brought in from the Philippines suddenly died, testing seemed to show that they had died from the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus that can kill as many as nine out of ten people it infects. With homes and shopping centres very close to the ?monkey house?, the army was called in to contain what had the potential to be a devastating public health outbreak. But one never came. Monkey handlers appeared to develop antibodies and did not get sick. That?s when scientists realised they had discovered a new strain of Ebola that they called Reston, that causes disease in animals but not people.

    Since the monkeys didn?t have contact with each other, some scientists believe the virus could be airborne, though others suggest that the virus could have spread through the animals throwing faeces or handlers using the same gloves and equipment on several animals.

    The prospect of Ebola becoming airborne is contentious ? senior infectious disease specialists say it?s a likelihood, whereas others argue that, even with frequent mutations, no virus that affects humans has ever changed its mode of transmission. What may be more likely is that, given the pattern of previous Ebola infections, in which people have infected others that they have not had close physical contact with, Ebola is sometimes spread by respiratory droplets even if this is not the main method of transmission.

    DISEASE: EBOLA


    Where is it circulating? Ebola virus was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democ.....

    Pandemic threat: There are four Ebola viruses that cause disease in people, all of which are endemic to Africa. While these are mainly spread through a direct exchange of bodily fluids, it could be spread through respiratory droplets, such as when people produce bodily secretions such as sneezes or coughs (or as often happens with Ebola, vomit).

    Scientists have also wondered if the virus could in some cases be transmitted through smaller, aerosolised particles, although this does not seem likely to be a major mode of transmission.
    Since Ebola is such a ferocious killer and it doesn?t spread very easily, it often kills people before they have had a chance to spread the virus. However, if the virus mutates in ways that allow it to spread via respiratory droplets, as COVID-19 does, that would increase the potential for it to spread more easily and become a pandemic threat.

    Reston so far only affects animals, but it is so similar to the other four Ebola viruses, there is a concern that it could mutate to become pathogenic in humans and then spread easily around the world through imported livestock or other animal production.

    How is it spread? Like many z.....https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/ne...ic/ebola-virus

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    Tomorrow?s biggest microbial threats
    Nature Medicine volume 27, pages358?359(2021)Cite this article
    Although many health experts around the world must stay focused on the ongoing viral pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, similar viruses and microbial organisms such as bacteria could create the next global killer. Experts discuss the most likely culprits.

    ......

    The unknown?in this case, novel and maybe even unimaginable diseases?creates the most fear for some people, but there are plenty of known types of diseases to worry about, and some experts see those as the most dangerous. For instance, Amesh Adalja, an expert in preparing for pandemics and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says, ?The biggest threats are still going to come from ones that we?ve already characterized.? For a top global threat, Adalja picks influenza virus, noting that it ?has proven time and time again that it?s capable of causing pandemics and based on its genetic structure it?s really only a matter of time before new strains emerge that have the capacity for efficient human-to-human transmission.?

    There is a list of deadly influenza outbreaks. The 1918?1919 influenza pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people, which was more than one third of the world?s population. About 1 million people died in the 1957?1958 influenza pandemic, and there have been others. However, influenza is not the only known threat.

    ......

    In 2018, Adalja wrote: ?The most probable naturally occurring [global catastrophic biological risk]-level threat that humans face is from a respiratory-borne RNA virus, and so this class of microbes should be a preparedness priority.? He was right, because SARS-CoV-2 is just such a virus. Thinking even more broadly, he now says that ?any kind of efficiently spreading respiratory virus, whether or not it comes from influenza or coronavirus families, should also be thought of as potentially having pandemic potential because they all have these similar characteristics in that they spread efficiently from human to human.?
    Reacting to resistance


    In addition to defending against coronaviruses, public-health experts must also defend against other known microbial threats, such as antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria. Even now, these microbes cause about 700,000 deaths a year around the world, and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis accounts for about one third of those. Experts already forecast far more AMR-related deaths ahead, with the United Nations Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance warning that drug-resistant disease could kill 10 million people a year by 2050.

    According to Linfa Wang, a professor in the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke?National University of Singapore Medical School, AMR bacteria remain a key concern, but he says, ?at least we can do systematic and targeted surveillance and monitoring, which will provide some early warning.?

    ....
    Inter-species interactions


    Infectious agents that jump from non-human species to humans?even ones beyond coronaviruses?also appear to be increasingly dangerous. ?There are millions of animal viruses for which a jump to humans becomes increasingly likely as our populations and those of our livestock grow and expand into new territories and niches,? says Iruka Okeke, a professor of pharmaceutical microbiology at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. ?However, between now and when that happens, millions of people will be sickened and/or killed by existing pathogen threats.?

    .......

    Keeping track of zoonotic diseases also poses a problem. For emerging zoonotic diseases, Wang says, ?We don?t have a reliable and affordable monitoring system yet, so the responses will always be reactive rather than proactive.?

    Plus, there is so much to monitor. Over than a decade ago, scientists reported that more than 70% of new pathogens come from animals. It will be difficult to stay ahead of these potential threats.
    Working with the unknown


    In many ways, healthcare systems will remain reactive to deadly infections. For example, Kevin Marsh, the senior advisor for the African Academy of Sciences, says, ?It is in the nature of such threats that we can?t predict the next one either in timing or pathogen, but we can be pretty sure that there will be new ones.? So, he says, ?The key is active surveillance and having mechanisms for rapid identification and response to new outbreaks.?

    A sophisticated surveillance system might even prevent another disease from spreading around the world so fast. ?The world needs to build proper microbial surveillance networks to monitor any developments in infections within regions?essentially have a pathogen genetic surveillance group that concentrates on these activities,? Alobo states. ?Early warning systems are needed.?

    Warning systems would help. In the face of so much uncertainty, however, healthcare systems cannot afford to wait on outbreaks before reacting.
    .....


    .....? Despite the rapid success in detecting SARS-CoV-2 and developing several effective vaccines, Okeke says, ?it has been impossible to make people stay home or masked to avoid transmission in most countries.? She adds, ?When given the choice between skipping a holiday and posing mortal risk to another?s life, sufficient numbers of people have chosen the latter and we have to presume that they will do it again.? So, preparation goes beyond science and deep into societies around the world.
    ....


    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01264-2

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    Trove of new coronaviruses detected among bats in China, study finds


    By 9News Staff
    5:35pm Mar 16, 2021

    A trove of new coronaviruses have been detected among bats in southern China, a study has found.
    Researchers have sequenced 24 coronavirus genomes, four of which were found to be new viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2.
    Experts from Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences in Taian, China, studied 302 samples of faeces and urine, and took 109 mouth swabs from 342 live bats between May 2019 and November 2020.

    The researchers trapped and released nearly two dozen species of bats in an area spanning about 1100 hectares.
    One of the viruses researchers found in a Rhinolophus pusillus bat shared 94.5 per cent of its genome with the COVID-19 pandemic virus - the second-closest known relative to SARS-CoV-2.

    The closest known relative is currently RATG13, a coronavirus which was found in a Rhinolophus affinis bat in Yunnan in 2013, which shares 96 per cent of its genome with SARS-CoV-2...

    .https://www.9news.com.au/national/ne...5-6c0727201dbb

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  • Pathfinder
    replied
    Guinea can become center of Ebola outbreak by summer if nothing changes - Russian official
    ...
    MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Guinea can come to be a cluster of the Ebola virus outbreak by summer unless the situation there changes cardinally, Russia?s consumer watchdog head Anna Popova told TASS.

    "It is a hotspot for us there because our forecasts show that unless the situation changes dramatically <?> we can get an epicenter of the Ebola fever outbreak. Now everything necessary is being done, our colleagues are working there to avert that," she said.
    ...
    Anna Popova added that Guinea is also facing the spread of COVID-19 on top of the Ebola virus, but the situation "is not that scary

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  • sharon sanders
    replied
    bump this

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    New Ebola outbreak likely sparked by a person infected 5 years ago


    By Kai Kupferschmidt
    Mar. 12, 2021 , 1:15 PM

    An Ebola outbreak in Guinea that has so far sickened at least 18 people and killed nine has stirred difficult memories of the devastating epidemic that struck the West African country between 2013 and 2016, along with neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone, leaving more than 11,000 people dead.

    But it may not just be the trauma that has persisted. The virus causing the new outbreak barely differs from the strain seen 5 to 6 years ago, genomic analyses by three independent research groups have shown, suggesting the virus lay dormant in a survivor of the epidemic all that time. ?This is pretty shocking,? says virologist Angela Rasmussen of Georgetown University. ?Ebolaviruses aren?t herpesviruses??which are known to cause long-lasting infections??and generally RNA viruses don?t just hang around not replicating at all.?

    Scientists knew the Ebola virus can persist for a long time in the human body; a resurgence in Guinea in 2016 originated from a survivor who shed the virus in his semen more than 500 days after his infection and infected a partner through sexual intercourse. ?But to have a new outbreak start from latent infection 5 years after the end of an epidemic is scary and new,? .....https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021...ed-5-years-ago

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  • Treyfish
    replied

    12 MAR, 00:03

    Popova: a new type of avian influenza virus is likely to be transmitted from person to person


    The head of Rospotrebnadzor stressed that there is time to prepare for such a scenario - to develop tests and create a vaccine

    MOSCOW, March 12. / TASS /. A new type of avian influenza A (H5N8) virus, which was identified in several Russians in February, is likely to mutate soon and be able to be transmitted from person to person, Anna Popova, head of Rospotrebnadzor, told TASS.
    "The forecast that this will happen has a fairly high degree of probability. It is likely to happen. <...> But we saw it before the trouble struck," she said.

    Popova stressed that there is time to prepare for such a scenario - to develop tests and create a vaccine. "It won't be necessary - this will be a lucky chance. But if necessary, we will be ready. That is, we were able to see and warn the entire world community that there is a threat," the agency's interlocutor added.
    According to her, the detection of this virus in humans has become a "world-class discovery" and a natural result of the work of the entire sanitary and epidemiological surveillance system.


    In February, Popova said that scientists at the Vector Center had confirmed the world's first cases of human infection with the avian influenza A (H5N8) virus. Then it was reported that seven employees of a poultry farm in the south of Russia were infected, where an outbreak among the poultry population occurred in December last year.https://tass.ru/obschestvo/10887701


    Russia Warns of H5N8 Bird Flu Transmission

    Updated: 19 hours ago

    The mutating H5N8 strain of avian flu has a high risk of human-to-human transmission, Russian authorities warned Friday.

    Anna Popova, who heads Russia?s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, made the prediction nearly a month after scientists detected the first case of H5N8 transmission to humans at a southern Russia poultry farm.

    ?There?s a fairly high degree of probability? of human-to-human transmission forecasts, Popova told the state-run TASS news agency.

    Though people can get infected with other bird and swine flu subtypes, the H5N8 strain that is lethal for birds has never been reported to have spread to humans.

    ?This is likely to happen. Colleagues say that the mutation is continuing very actively,? Popova said.


    Popova noted that Rospotrebnadzor and the Siberia-based Vektor state research laboratory ?have the time? to develop a test kit and a vaccine, ?then monitor the situation.?

    ?If we won?t need it, it?ll be a lucky break. But if necessary, we?ll be ready,? Russia?s chief sanitary doctor told TASS.

    ?In other words, we?ll be able to warn the entire world community of the threat.?https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/...mission-a73219

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  • Treyfish
    replied

    Search for "Animal X" hiding a deadly virus that could trigger a pandemic worse than the black death killing 75 million people

    by Merlin Charpie
    mars 9, 2021
    "ANIMAL X" could hide a deadly virus that could trigger a pandemic worse than the Black Death that could kill more than 75 million people.
    Experts told Sun Online how unknown viruses that are currently lurking unnoticed in animals could mutate and spread to humans.
    As the world currently grapples with the Covid pandemic, scientists are in a race against time to find the potential source of the next one.
    Animals and the viruses lurking in them are one of the prime suspects as expanding human populations come into contact with nature.
    World Health Organization (WHO) officials have warned that the threat of zoonotic diseases - where infections pass from animals to humans - is an emerging danger.
    WHO estimates that around one billion cases of disease and millions of deaths occur each year from zoonoses.
    Dr Josef Settele, of the Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research, co-author of a new United Nations-level study on future pandemics, told Sun Online: ?In principle, any species could be a source. The probability is higher for groups where there are more species such as rats and bats.
    ?Ultimately, it depends on the adaptability of the species. "
    The Sun Online previously revealed how a still-unknown disease could cause the next pandemic, a phenomenon known as Disease X - and it is possible that this could be carried by an unknown animal, "Animal X".
    We also revealed that scientists fear the next pandemic will be worse than the Black Death - which killed 75 million people - and that humanity could face a health crisis every five years.
    Of the 1.67 million unknown viruses on the planet, up to 827,000 of them may have the ability to infect people from animals, according to the EcoHealth Alliance.
    Covid-19 is believed to be a chilling reminder of how animal viruses can make the leap to humanity and spread like wildfire.
    Bird flu, SARS, MERS, Nipah, and yellow fever are all examples of bugs that originated in animals before viruses mutated and spread to humans.

    Clearance of the Amazon rainforest has been called a potential arena for the next pandemic, with bats being captured by the state-run Fiocruz Institute for study to identify any other viruses that could be fatal to humans.
    Australians have also been warned to move away from their native bats, which could also carry a number of harmful diseases that we are not aware of - with the emerging Hendra virus believed to be from flying rodents.
    Wet markets in China, where animals such as bats are slaughtered and then sold as meat, are notorious for being a hotbed of disease, with studies warning of infectious respiratory diseases emerging even before the pandemic. of Covid-19.
    Like wet markets, bushmeat markets in Africa selling monkey meat have been blamed for the emergence of the deadly Ebola virus.
    Russia detected the first cases of H5N8 bird flu transmitted to humans last month, and while the disease has not caused any deaths, the way it has adapted to infect people is a worrying sign.
    Scientists fear that an outbreak of MERS, a coronavirus deadlier than Covid-19, could trigger a pandemic due to the greater number of people in contact with camels - a reservoir of the virus.
    Anthony Lockett, an infectious disease doctor, told Sun Online how bats could be the source of the next pandemic.
    He told us, ?The species that could harbor disease X are bats and birds, as both can fly and travel long distances.
    ?The migratory patterns of bats can be disrupted, resulting in the spread of disease, as was seen in Australia a few years ago, when bats spread disease to humans. "
    But Mr. Lockett is more concerned about the damaging potential of birds.
    While there have been no casualties in this outbreak, Lockett added that if people had not taken social distance, we likely would have seen an outbreak of bird flu in humans this year.
    He told Sun Online: ?Balancing between bats and birds, I suspect birds win.
    ?Birds can transmit infection between migratory species such as ducks and poultry.
    ?There has been an ongoing bird flu outbreak among birds in the context of the Covid outbreak. Many small owners have been told to keep their birds indoors.
    "I suspect the reason we haven't seen an outbreak of bird flu in humans this year is because of social distancing."
    He added: "In the case of birds, it is not only habitat encroachment, but global warming will alter migration patterns and lead to the spread of the disease to areas that are not normally associated. to avian influenza. "
    In addition to Russia, bird flu outbreaks were discovered in India and the UK last month.



    The world's worst pandemics

    These are the deadliest disease outbreaks in history - with several times the death toll than currently triggered by Covid.
    Black Death - So....
    Many diseases are believed to have infected humans through the consumption of contaminated meat, including Covid-19, Ebola, and SARS.

    Wet markets in China have been described as transmission epicenters of potential pandemics, where live animals, including bats, are slaughtered and sold to customers.
    African bushmeat markets offering a similar type of service have been accused of epidemics such as Ebola.
    Dr Settele told Sun Online: ?Wet markets and bushmeat markets increase the risk of the spread of new diseases due to the proximity of animals of the same species but also of different species, and the presence direct from a large number of groups. "


    However, he also warned that the next pandemic could come from anywhere in the animal kingdom.
    He added: ?In principle, any species could be a source. The probability is higher for groups where there are more species such as rats and bats.
    Environmental writer John Vidal, who is working on a book revealing the links between nature and disease, has predicted the world is facing a new Black Death-scale pandemic.
    Given the popularity of air travel and global trade, a virus could rage across the world, unknowingly spread by asymptomatic carriers, "in a matter of weeks, killing tens of millions before borders close." he adds.
    He said: ?Mankind has changed its relationship with wild and farmed animals, destroying their habitats and bringing them together - and the process? is only accelerating.
    ?If we fail to appreciate the gravity of the situation, this current pandemic may just be the forerunner of something much more serious. "


    https://news-24.fr/cherchez-animal-x...-de-personnes/

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    Updates on Rabies virus disease: is evolution toward "Zombie virus" a tangible threat?
    DOI: 10.23750/abm.v92i1.9153
    Authors:
    Giuseppe LippiGianfranco CervellinDownload full-text PDF
    Read full-text
    References (38)
    Figures (3)
    Abstract and Figures


    Human rabies disease is caused by Rabies Lyssavirus, a virus belonging to Rhabdoviridae family. The more frequent means of contagion is through bites of infected mammals (especially dogs, but also bats, skunks, foxes, raccoons and wolves) which, lacerating the skin, directly inoculate virus-laden saliva into the underlying tissues. Immediately after inoculation, the Rabies virus enters neural axons and migrates along peripheral nerves towards the central nervous system, where it preferentially localizes and injuries neurons of brainstem, thalamus, basal ganglia and spinal cord. After an initial prodromic period, the infection evolves towards two distinct clinical entities, encompassing encephalitic (i.e., ?furious?; ~70-80% of cases) and paralytic (i.e., ?dumb?; ~20-30% of cases) rabies disease.

    The former subtype is characterized by fever, hyperactivity, hydrophobia, hypersalivation, deteriorated consciousness, phobic or inspiratory spasms, autonomic stimulation, irritability, up to aggressive behaviours. The current worldwide incidence and mortality of rabies disease are estimated at 0.175?100,000 and 0.153?100,000, respectively. The incidence is higher in Africa and South-East Asia, nearly double in men than in women, with a higher peak in childhood. Mortality remains as high as ~90%.

    Since patients with encephalitic rabies remind the traditional image of ?Zombies?, we need to think out-of-the-box, in that apocalyptic epidemics of mutated Rabies virus may be seen as an imaginable menace for mankind. This would be theoretically possible by either natural or artificial virus engineering, producing viral strains characterized by facilitated human-to-human transmission, faster incubation, enhanced neurotoxicity and predisposition towards developing highly aggressive behaviours...https://www.researchgate.net/publica...angible_threat

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    Researchers Have Discovered How SARS-CoV-2 Is Mutating

    The virus is deleting parts of its spike protein genome.

    By B. DAVID ZARLEY Published 10 minutes ago

    As the virus behind COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, continues to proliferate around the world, it is accruing more and more mutations.

    Like any organism, most mutations damage the coronavirus, and those crippled viruses will rapidly die out.

    Every now and then, though, these SARS-CoV-2 mutations will hit upon a winning variant that proves beneficial to the virus. When that happens — as it seems to have in the U.K., South Africa, and Manaus, Brazil — those virus variants may out-compete the old strains and take over.

    These mutations appear to be helping the coronavirus attach better to human cells, as well as partially evading antibodies to prior strains.


    A team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has uncovered how those SARS-CoV-2 mutations are happening: the virus is deleting portions of its genetic sequence that control the spike protein.

    This infamous little protein, which resembles an armor-clad pin with a drunken wobble, is how the virus gets into the cells; it's also the main target of coronavirus vaccines (as well as antibodies created by infection).

    Understanding just how it is changing may help us prepare better treatments and vaccines to fight back against new strains.
    ........Worse, changes to such a critical piece of the virus can also make it harder for our immune systems to recognize it as the same familiar foe.

    "Once it's gone, it's gone, and if it's gone in an important part of the virus that the antibody 'sees,' then it's gone for good," Duprex said.

    Since submitting their paper, published in Science, for preprint this past fall, the researchers have seen their discovery come to horrific life: the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants, first identified in the U.K. and South Africa, both have these SARS-CoV-2 mutations-by-deletion.....

    .https://www.freethink.com/articles/sars-cov-2-mutations

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    .....Two viral-vector Ebola vaccines have been cleared for use.

    However, there is but one inhibition about the use of viral-vector technology. Some fear that people could develop an immunity to the vaccine itself, potentially making it less effective against new variants of the coronavirus or another type of outbreak.

    A viral-vector Covid-19 vaccine developed in China didn’t perform as well in some people during testing because subjects had pre-existing immunity to the underlying virus that was used.

    WSJ’s report states that one way around the challenge is to use a virus from another species. The viral-vector vaccine from AstraZeneca PLC and its partner University of Oxford, which is being tested in the U.S., uses a chimpanzee adenovirus.https://in.news.yahoo.com/viral-vect...083600576.html

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  • Treyfish
    replied
    EU must prepare for ‘era of pandemics’, von der Leyen says

    POSTED BY VENTO ON 1ST MARCH 2021 IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS
    Europe must prepare its medical sector to cope with an “era of pandemics”, the European Commission president said, as she warned the bloc was still in its most difficult period for Covid-19 vaccine deliveries. Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times that the EU could not afford to sit still even once Covid-19 has been overcome, as she described her plans for a Europewide fast-reaction system designed to respond more quickly to emerging medical threats.

    “Europe is determined to enlarge its strength in vaccine production,” she said in a telephone interview. “It’s an era of pandemics we are entering. If you look at what has been happening over the past few years, I mean from HIV to Ebola to MERS to SARS, these were all epidemics which could be contained, but we should not think it is all over when we’ve overcome Covid-19. The risk is still there.” Von der Leyen last month unveiled plans for a biodefence preparedness plan called the HERA Incubator, which will combine researchers, biotech companies, manufacturers and public authorities to monitor emerging threats and work on adapting vaccines....http://maltawinds.com/2021/03/01/eu-...er-leyen-says/

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  • Treyfish
    replied

    MARCH 1, 2021?
    Amid mutton shortage, camel meat tickles taste buds in Kashmir

    Srinagar: Forget mutton, camel meat is tickling taste buds in Kashmir.
    Demand for camel meat has witnessed an increase amid the ongoing mutton shortage in the Kashmir valley. Several mutton retailers are presently selling camel meat even as the deadlock between the dealers and government has not ended to date.

    “Mutton retailers had earlier started selling chicken due to mutton shortage. And now I bought camel meat from a retailer at Natipora. I also noticed another retailer selling the same at Mehjoor Nagar, Batamaloo, Parimpora and a few other places in the city. Several people are scared to buy chicken due to bird flu and camel meat has come across as a good alternative to mutton,” said Omar Bhat, a customer....https://www.thekashmirmonitor.net/am...ds-in-kashmir/

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