Mt_Rider Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 (edited) MERS = Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/22/health/mers-airborne/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 .....Interestingly, the barn air tested positive for MERS on the exact same day that one of the nine camels in the barn tested positive for MERS. Also, the virus from the air sample was identical to the virus found in nasal samples from the infected camel and its owner. "These data show evidence for the presence of the airborne MERS in the same barn that was owned by the patient and sheltered the infected camels," the study authors write. But does that mean MERS is easily transmitted through the air? "What they say is that virus particles can be airborne, but it's premature to conclude that MERS is transmitted through aerosols," said Dr. Mark Denison, a professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. The key point is the difference between dead virus particles and a viable virus. (snip) ...... "We know that MERS is found in nasal secretion of camels, so virus particles being spread out in a barn is not a surprise," he said. "Whether or not you can get infected, and if it's a cause for concern, is still an open question." However, previous studies have suggested that there must be a way MERS is shed into the environment. Several reports in the past have shown MERS infection of those in close contact with infected patients. The exact pathways of infections are unclear. "Do we still need to consider the possibility of airborne transmission? Yes, of course," Denison said. Plane travel [ukraine, Israel, MERS] just got a bit riskier this past couple weeks.... MtRider ................... Edited July 22, 2014 by Mt_Rider Quote Link to comment
ANewMe Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 http://theconversation.com/mers-coronavirus-animal-source-or-deliberate-release-29690 And while camels have been attributed as the source of the outbreak, the peculiar patterns of the virus suggest we need to consider another possible source: deliberate release. Many of the features are paradoxical and cannot be explained by known principles of disease transmission. Also: (I have no link but shouldn't be hard to find) Last week, Professor Raina MacIntyre, Head of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine and Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at UNSW, published a paper called The discrepant epidemiology of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), where she suggested that the unusual patterns of the MERS coronavirus outbreaks might indicate deliberate human release. Quote Link to comment
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