Friday, April 25, 2003
THE OTHER HEALTH PROBLEM
IN ONTARIO: PIGS WITH AIDS?
By Charles Ortleb
As the world awaits the results of the SARS experiments with pigs (currently being conducted on a slow boat from China, it seems) it would be prudent to take a look at the health of pigs in Ontario before they even come in contact with the SARS coronavirus--if they haven't already. It turns out that many of them have been struggling with an AIDS-like illness for many years. It's not a pretty picture.
Pigs in Ontario, likes pigs in the United States and China, have been struggling for many years with the complexities of a disease which looks very much like AIDS and African Swine Fever. It's officially called Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), but many farmers call it pig AIDS. It has been a disaster for the farm economy, but now with the onset of the SARS pandemic, it is time to question whether it also has implications for public health.
As we have pointed out in this column before, pigs can become infected with coronaviruses fairly easily. Given that, it would seem that experiments to see if pigs can be infected with the SARS coronaviruses are reinventing the wheel, but you never know. Maybe there is something really funky about the SARS coronavirus. Maybe it belongs in a class by itself.
But while we're waiting for the results of the SARS coronavirus experiments on pigs, lets take a closer look at the health of pigs in Ontario. After all, there are at least 3.6 million of them, and if it turns out that they can be carriers of the SARS coronavirus, they may end up in quarantine soon, too. Or worse.
A fascinating report by an organization called Ontario Pork gives us an overview of the PRRS problems in Ontario. According to the report, "Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is considered the single most important viral pathogen in pigs in North America. The virus undergoes genetic variations and continues to evolve."
This evolution of new strains has gotten so complex that there are now two "groups" Of PRRS viruses circulating in pigs in Ontario. And they keep changing, causing new AIDS-like problems in the pigs in Ontario. The Ontario Pork report notes the extent of the damage PRRS is capable of doing: "Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a swine disease that was recognized in North America for the first time 13 years ago, but PRRS still remains the main cause for considerable economic losses in the swine industry. The decrease in the number of small and mid-size swine operations can be directly tied to the effects of PRRS, especially during periods when markets are weak. Financial losses from acute outbreaks have been estimated at US $246 per sow, but persistent infection extends the economic impact of PRRSV far beyond the farrowing house and nursery and into grow-finish operations."
Trying to determine the damage the vaccine strain of PRRS has done versus the original field strain has become a real genetic headache. Ontario Pork reports on a study of the lung tissue of 284 Ontario pigs that had PRRS. (The fact that PRRS infects lungs should be of some interest to SARS researchers who have open minds.) The study concluded that the vaccine virus was also involved in the clinical disease of PRRS. Both the vaccine virus and the original field virus were changing--the field virus more than the vaccine virus. The main point to take away from this is that PRRS is a dynamic disease situation in pigs in Ontario, and given the AIDS-like nature of PRRS, pigs need to be watched closely in Ontario if it turns out that pigs are susceptible to the SARS coronavirus.
Doctors studying the outcome of SARS have warned that people with weakened immune systems or pre-existing medical conditions might do the worst when they get SARS. In many ways PRRS has left many pigs in Ontario with weakened immune systems and a pre-existing medical condition that may make them especially vulnerable to coronavirus infection.
We're bring you new developments on this story as soon as we get them.
Click here for a database on SARS and pigs.
Charles Ortleb is the author of The Closing Argument and the co-author of The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Follies.
IN ONTARIO: PIGS WITH AIDS?
By Charles Ortleb
As the world awaits the results of the SARS experiments with pigs (currently being conducted on a slow boat from China, it seems) it would be prudent to take a look at the health of pigs in Ontario before they even come in contact with the SARS coronavirus--if they haven't already. It turns out that many of them have been struggling with an AIDS-like illness for many years. It's not a pretty picture.
Pigs in Ontario, likes pigs in the United States and China, have been struggling for many years with the complexities of a disease which looks very much like AIDS and African Swine Fever. It's officially called Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), but many farmers call it pig AIDS. It has been a disaster for the farm economy, but now with the onset of the SARS pandemic, it is time to question whether it also has implications for public health.
As we have pointed out in this column before, pigs can become infected with coronaviruses fairly easily. Given that, it would seem that experiments to see if pigs can be infected with the SARS coronaviruses are reinventing the wheel, but you never know. Maybe there is something really funky about the SARS coronavirus. Maybe it belongs in a class by itself.
But while we're waiting for the results of the SARS coronavirus experiments on pigs, lets take a closer look at the health of pigs in Ontario. After all, there are at least 3.6 million of them, and if it turns out that they can be carriers of the SARS coronavirus, they may end up in quarantine soon, too. Or worse.
A fascinating report by an organization called Ontario Pork gives us an overview of the PRRS problems in Ontario. According to the report, "Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is considered the single most important viral pathogen in pigs in North America. The virus undergoes genetic variations and continues to evolve."
This evolution of new strains has gotten so complex that there are now two "groups" Of PRRS viruses circulating in pigs in Ontario. And they keep changing, causing new AIDS-like problems in the pigs in Ontario. The Ontario Pork report notes the extent of the damage PRRS is capable of doing: "Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a swine disease that was recognized in North America for the first time 13 years ago, but PRRS still remains the main cause for considerable economic losses in the swine industry. The decrease in the number of small and mid-size swine operations can be directly tied to the effects of PRRS, especially during periods when markets are weak. Financial losses from acute outbreaks have been estimated at US $246 per sow, but persistent infection extends the economic impact of PRRSV far beyond the farrowing house and nursery and into grow-finish operations."
Trying to determine the damage the vaccine strain of PRRS has done versus the original field strain has become a real genetic headache. Ontario Pork reports on a study of the lung tissue of 284 Ontario pigs that had PRRS. (The fact that PRRS infects lungs should be of some interest to SARS researchers who have open minds.) The study concluded that the vaccine virus was also involved in the clinical disease of PRRS. Both the vaccine virus and the original field virus were changing--the field virus more than the vaccine virus. The main point to take away from this is that PRRS is a dynamic disease situation in pigs in Ontario, and given the AIDS-like nature of PRRS, pigs need to be watched closely in Ontario if it turns out that pigs are susceptible to the SARS coronavirus.
Doctors studying the outcome of SARS have warned that people with weakened immune systems or pre-existing medical conditions might do the worst when they get SARS. In many ways PRRS has left many pigs in Ontario with weakened immune systems and a pre-existing medical condition that may make them especially vulnerable to coronavirus infection.
We're bring you new developments on this story as soon as we get them.
Click here for a database on SARS and pigs.
Charles Ortleb is the author of The Closing Argument and the co-author of The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Follies.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
AUSTRALIAN RESEARCHERS TO
INFECT CATS, CHICKEN AND PIGS
WITH SARS-ASSOCIATED CORONAVIRUS
By Charles Ortleb
According to The Advertiser in Australia, researchers at a very secure laboratory in Australia will soon study the progress of SARS, if there is any, in cats, chicken and pigs. Michael Owen-Brown reported that the research would be conducted in an animal health laboratory in Geelong, Australia.
In the same article, Owen-Brown reported that global trend expert Dr Patrick Dixon, from the Development Management School in London, has predicted that SARS "threatens to infect more than one billion people worldwide in a 12 month period."
Given that there are over three million pigs in Ontario, Canada, it seems like the susceptibility of pigs to the SARS agent would be a more concern to both Canadian and American agricultural researchers. It appears that the pig disease experts don't even want to think about the possibility that pigs could be a a current vector for SARS in China and a future vector in North America. Their inaction could come back to haunt them. Unfortunately, most pig disease research in this country seems to be done under the watchful eye of the pork industry. Ironically, that industry has been battered for over a decade by a SARS-like (and AIDS-like) disaster in pigs. One suspects that many in the pig research community aren't getting too much sleep these days as they await the outcome of research into the possibility that pigs can carry the SARS coronavirus. Actually, if the SARS coronavirus is not capable of infecting pigs, that would be just one more odd thing about this devastating germ.
This column seems to be the only place that has reported on research has already been done on the transmissibility of coronaviruses between people and pigs. Here it is again in case you missed it. It appears they are capable of going back and forth between people and pigs with great ease.
And here's an editorial we wrote a couple of weeks ago which still stands:
Given the seriousness of the SARS pandemic, we urge the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control to take a long hard look at the possibility that SARS is related to some form of PRRS, PRDC, or PMWS. Coronavirus is often a secondary infection associated with at least two of these forms of respiratory illnesses in pigs. We urge these organizations to screen SARS patients for the PRRS virus and the various secondary infections associated with it. We also urge the screening of SARS patients for the various agents associated with PRDC and PMWS. PRRS, PRDC and PMWS look far too much like SARS in pigs for the possible link not to be investigated, especially given the overlapping of SARS and the PRRS/PRDC/PMWS epidemics in China. We also urge PRRS, PRDC and PMWS researchers to share their expertise with the CDC and the WHO.
Click here for a database on SARS and pigs.
Charles Ortleb is the author of The Closing Argument and the co-author of The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Follies.
INFECT CATS, CHICKEN AND PIGS
WITH SARS-ASSOCIATED CORONAVIRUS
By Charles Ortleb
According to The Advertiser in Australia, researchers at a very secure laboratory in Australia will soon study the progress of SARS, if there is any, in cats, chicken and pigs. Michael Owen-Brown reported that the research would be conducted in an animal health laboratory in Geelong, Australia.
In the same article, Owen-Brown reported that global trend expert Dr Patrick Dixon, from the Development Management School in London, has predicted that SARS "threatens to infect more than one billion people worldwide in a 12 month period."
Given that there are over three million pigs in Ontario, Canada, it seems like the susceptibility of pigs to the SARS agent would be a more concern to both Canadian and American agricultural researchers. It appears that the pig disease experts don't even want to think about the possibility that pigs could be a a current vector for SARS in China and a future vector in North America. Their inaction could come back to haunt them. Unfortunately, most pig disease research in this country seems to be done under the watchful eye of the pork industry. Ironically, that industry has been battered for over a decade by a SARS-like (and AIDS-like) disaster in pigs. One suspects that many in the pig research community aren't getting too much sleep these days as they await the outcome of research into the possibility that pigs can carry the SARS coronavirus. Actually, if the SARS coronavirus is not capable of infecting pigs, that would be just one more odd thing about this devastating germ.
This column seems to be the only place that has reported on research has already been done on the transmissibility of coronaviruses between people and pigs. Here it is again in case you missed it. It appears they are capable of going back and forth between people and pigs with great ease.
And here's an editorial we wrote a couple of weeks ago which still stands:
Given the seriousness of the SARS pandemic, we urge the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control to take a long hard look at the possibility that SARS is related to some form of PRRS, PRDC, or PMWS. Coronavirus is often a secondary infection associated with at least two of these forms of respiratory illnesses in pigs. We urge these organizations to screen SARS patients for the PRRS virus and the various secondary infections associated with it. We also urge the screening of SARS patients for the various agents associated with PRDC and PMWS. PRRS, PRDC and PMWS look far too much like SARS in pigs for the possible link not to be investigated, especially given the overlapping of SARS and the PRRS/PRDC/PMWS epidemics in China. We also urge PRRS, PRDC and PMWS researchers to share their expertise with the CDC and the WHO.
Click here for a database on SARS and pigs.
Charles Ortleb is the author of The Closing Argument and the co-author of The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Follies.
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
CONGRESS SHOULD HAVE A
LITTLE TALK WITH JULIE GERBERDING
By Charles Ortleb
Julie Gerberding, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, really should have a little message delivered to her that she can thoroughly understand. She doesn't have much wiggle room where the cause of SARS is concerned. The apocalpytic nature of this pandemic demands that she get it right, and if evidence is not conclusive, she'd better be funding and encouraging alternative research into the cause of SARS. Anyone who knows the history of the CDC on the issues of AIDS and CFIDS knows how arrogant and incompetent this world famous organization can be. If the same incompetence and arrogance are operative on the SARS front, millions will lose their lives and the world could plunge into a chaos of our worst nightmares. Medical organizations in other countries bow down to the CDC at their own peril.
Congress should call Gerberding in and they should also extend an invitation to Frank Plummer, the Canadian scientist who argues that the existing data has failed to support Gerberding's not-so-tentative conclusion that the SARS-associated coronavirus is the cause of SARS. Congress should listen closely to Frank Plummer to see if his arguments have merit. They should also basically put Gerberding on notice that she must encourage a vigorous debate about the cause of SARS. They should make sure she is funding research into alternative theories of SARS causation. If it turns out that she is wrong and that the CDC was not listening to its critics, Gerberding and her colleagues should pay for their mistakes with their jobs.
Click here for a database on SARS and pigs.
Charles Ortleb is the author of The Closing Argument and the co-author of The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Follies.
LITTLE TALK WITH JULIE GERBERDING
By Charles Ortleb
Julie Gerberding, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, really should have a little message delivered to her that she can thoroughly understand. She doesn't have much wiggle room where the cause of SARS is concerned. The apocalpytic nature of this pandemic demands that she get it right, and if evidence is not conclusive, she'd better be funding and encouraging alternative research into the cause of SARS. Anyone who knows the history of the CDC on the issues of AIDS and CFIDS knows how arrogant and incompetent this world famous organization can be. If the same incompetence and arrogance are operative on the SARS front, millions will lose their lives and the world could plunge into a chaos of our worst nightmares. Medical organizations in other countries bow down to the CDC at their own peril.
Congress should call Gerberding in and they should also extend an invitation to Frank Plummer, the Canadian scientist who argues that the existing data has failed to support Gerberding's not-so-tentative conclusion that the SARS-associated coronavirus is the cause of SARS. Congress should listen closely to Frank Plummer to see if his arguments have merit. They should also basically put Gerberding on notice that she must encourage a vigorous debate about the cause of SARS. They should make sure she is funding research into alternative theories of SARS causation. If it turns out that she is wrong and that the CDC was not listening to its critics, Gerberding and her colleagues should pay for their mistakes with their jobs.
Click here for a database on SARS and pigs.
Charles Ortleb is the author of The Closing Argument and the co-author of The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Follies.
Monday, April 21, 2003
AIDS RESEARCHER RECOMMENDS
TRYING PAPAYA EXTRACT TO
TREAT SARS
Celebrity AIDS researcher Luc Montagnier has suggested that a fermented extract from papaya may be helpful in treating SARS. According to a report from Reuters, "Montagnier said he believed an extract of fermented papaya could improve immunity to and symptoms caused by viruses including SARS, although he pointed out that the treatment has not been backed up by research."
TRYING PAPAYA EXTRACT TO
TREAT SARS
Celebrity AIDS researcher Luc Montagnier has suggested that a fermented extract from papaya may be helpful in treating SARS. According to a report from Reuters, "Montagnier said he believed an extract of fermented papaya could improve immunity to and symptoms caused by viruses including SARS, although he pointed out that the treatment has not been backed up by research."
