It’s no coincidence that some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years — SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and likely the newly arrived 2019-nCoV virus — originated in bats.
A new University of California, Berkeley, study finds that bats’ fierce immune response to viruses could drive viruses to replicate faster, so that when they jump to mammals with average immune systems, such as humans, the viruses wreak deadly havoc.
They now think that it originated in pangolins whose scales are used in Chinese medicine.
I didn't hear that, but pangolins are the most trafficked creature and pro rata are 'worth' more than any other trafficked animal. ☹️
Yes terrible
🦚
There are no pangolin emojis so here are some pangolin facts (which I copied from a website, I don't have all that knowledge in my head!)
Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal – they are targeted for their meat and scales which is used in traditional medicine.
When it is threatened, a pangolin will curl itself into a tight ball that is impenetrable to predators.
Baby pangolins travel around with their mother by riding on the base of her tail.
Pangolins don’t have teeth, instead they have long sticky tongues that they use to eat ants and termites out of their mounds.
A pangolins tongue can be up to 40 cm long when fully extended – this is the longest tongue to body ration of all mammals.
Pangolins are the only mammals that are covered in scales
Pangolin scales are made of keratin, like our fingernails, and make up 20% to 30% of their body weight.
And the poor little things are trafficked in those vile markets. It’s unspeakable 😖
They cannot really be sure first we had snakes, then bats, now pangolins? They may never know, but the common denominator does seem to be live wild animals.
Certainly.
Chinese police seize 38,000 wild animals from traffickers in 20 days after Beijing banned the sale of exotic creatures due to coronavirus.
dailymail.co.uk/news/articl...
A bit late.
As long as I can remember we have had viruses from Asia such as Hong Kong Flue. Sad as any deaths are, is this virus anymore deadly the flue we used to fall ill with. Considering the size of China and Asia, deaths compared to size of population do not seem any different than flue. Which kills older and ill people here..
The big difference is that there is no vaccine or anti-viral treatment at the moment for Covid-19 (the new designated name for the strain), with flu there is an element of natural resistance from past flu infections, flu vaccinations and anti-virals such as Tamiflu, they know how to treat those. So in short, yes it is more dangerous.
That's true but from the survivers thus far. There will be a supply of Antibodies to make a vaccine. My point though was the deaths to population ratio, not that high considering half the far east have the virus and is is to a large degree being contained in Europe. I agree that flue in the UK is nowhere near epidemic proportions like we have a few decades ago,.
You have your wires slightly crossed. It is the other way around my friend. It is the anti viral vaccine that promotes the production of antibodies.
This is simply explained here:
mytutor.co.uk/answers/16282...
Anti viral vaccines are developed from the virus itself.
Well mass produced vaccine is the best way of defeating a virus epidemic. However if a persons immune system defeats the virus and the patient recovers - His/her antibodies, can be in certain cases be injected to provide a short time protection, buying time if you like.. (Passive immunisation} - Read the last paragraph of this article - "Types of immunisation" - Not saying the perfect answer but if enough survive it (should) help..
It does make me wonder if there is something else going on here and question if the chinese are experimenting with animals and these virus's are then escaping as it is not normal for an animal virus to jump to the human chain? Just a thought x
Yes it is true these pangolins are use in China Asia & other such countries used in food & medicine and many other Chineese meals.
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