Re: Poultry wet market likely source of virus of H7N9 human infection: research
I do not believe that the wet markets are the source of H7N9.
It is not credible.
No source of the H7N9 infection has been identified by the government of China.
So what is it?
Memorable
Magpies & Martins
Probable
Pets & Pigeons
Tasty
Swallows & Swiftlets
We've been thinking a lot about Yàn Wō.
Cultural Delicacy and Healing Ingredient
Bird's Nest Soup is used for many infirmities including for age-related, male
libido concerns and to restore a woman's skin to
youthfulness. Chefs handle the raw materials; nests are soaked in room-temperature water as the first step in preparation, then are hand shredded and re-cleaned. Harvesters encounter small nests with significant amounts of
feces and feathers. Though white nests are most common, the red "blood nests" command the highest prices.
The Golden Nest ® company lists the various species and nest types in their marketing
literature (c). Many categories of dishes use bird's nest as primary ingredients including
cold drinks. Preparation
instructions are provided by Golden Nest that include Step 3: Rinsing:
rinsing step
For about few minutes, rinse the expanded, shredded nests under running water. While the previous Shredding Step exposes any
left-over impurities that were
buried deep inside the nests (if any), this step will remove it.
Due to the heavy demand, many risk life and limb to climb for the highly-priced natural nests. In the past, most collections occurred from the natural roosting habitats of vertical cliffs and massive caves. Market changes have changed those earlier practices. Factory farms using Roku or giant artificial
bird houses are located in coastal areas near urban populations to exploit the swiftlet's nests. Indonesia appears to be the world's largest exporter and generates a large market through Hong Kong exporting to the United States and China.
As China has grown wealthier and
exhibition of status symbols has become more common, the demand for Yàn Wō has skyrocketed and
coastal Indonesia has responded by building hundreds of multi-story buildings as artificial habitats for the swiftlets, including the White-Nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus). Water and insect attractant are provided. The avian diet will likely vary from normal fully wild, ranging birds.
Bird's nest soup has created a boom economy in Indonesia (North Sumatra) and the bird populations are
counter-intuitively soaring.
As a result of the demand in Asia, the swiftlet's habitat has been dramatically disrupted in the past 10 years.
Zoonosis is frequently found at those types of inflection points where habitat is disrupted due to human - animal interchange. Factory farms always create host-species transition events between humans and animals.
Profit acceleration / animal exploitation schemes typically draw individuals without proper training in wildlife interaction / handling.
Swiftlet Biology and Ecology
Additional factors may be a work in this situation. Perhaps an avian specialist could give us an overview here? We do not know the bird-to-bird interaction pattern with swifts, but we do know that they do not generally spend unnecessary time on the ground. Breeding periods appear to span ~35 days and may occur 1 to 4 times a year. We do not know if the calendar cycle of the breeding periods.
If caves are natural habitats do swiftlets share space with bats or do they take over previous bat roosts? Echolocation is an unusual skill found in these edible-nest-building species. Should we, in the viral research community,
even concern ourselves with
bat interactions?
The male of the species is the nest-builder, generating saliva as the primary material, not just as the glue, but as the primary material. Is it possible that hormonal changes in the male during breeding season may create an immune variance allowing advanced replication or
higher shedding of Influenza virus that are then incorporated unwittingly into the matrix of the nest?
If Ann Reid and JKT were able to rescue hundred year old virus RNA from AFIP paraffin blocks, then potential may exist that the viral deposits made by the male swiftlet during nest-building that
may be resuscitated in the incubation media of, well,
broth.
Current Import Bans
Due to this concern, Australia and New Zealand ban imports with the expressed interest to protect their citizens from Avian Influenza.
Actionable Intelligence
As you may realise by now,
precisely zero emergent H7N9 genetic samples are evident in the host species of various edible nest builders. You may be surprised to know that exactly zero Influenza isolates
of any serotype are represented in
GISAID from
edible nest builders. One of mankind's
newest intensively, factory-farmed species (~50 years) that interacts in host ranges with most H5N1 geographies is not studied at all?
Wildlife management experts should now be provisioning a basic kit of chalk, D-rings, quickdraws, nuts, cams, harnesses, ATCs, webbing and 24 pounds of 11mm dry rope next to a few sample bags.
Don't forget your swabs.
Please let us know what you find.
