Swine Flu Source Spawns Wild Theories
Date: 01-May-09
Country: UK
Author: Michael Kahn
Swine Flu Source Spawns Wild Theories Photo: Daniel Aguilar
Commuters
wear protective masks at a subway station in Mexico City, April 29, 2009.
Photo: Daniel Aguilar
LONDON - Dead pigs in China, evil factory farms in Mexico and an Al Qaeda
plot involving Mexican drug cartels are a few wild theories seeking to
explain a deadly swine flu outbreak that has killed up to 176 people.
Nobody knows for sure but scientists say the origins are in fact far less
sinister and are likely explained by the ability of viruses to mutate and
jump from species to species as animals and people increasingly live closer
to each other.
"The pig has been considered the mixing bowl of influenza viruses. Both
avian flu and pig flu viruses have spread via the pig to humans," Paul Yeo,
a virologist at Durham University in Britain, said on Thursday.
"The problem now with this virus is that it has picked up a mixture of
elements, now including human elements. It's a complex virus."
Twelve countries have confirmed cases of the H1N1 strain, a new infection
that has brought the world to the brink of a pandemic.
Finding the source of a new virus is key for scientists because
understanding how it jumped to humans can lead to better drugs and vaccines
as well as help prevent future outbreaks.
But one link experts probably won't be exploring is an Internet report
charging that Mexican drug cartels working with al Qaeda unleashed the swine
flu.
"The claim of the conspiracy theorists is that this new combination could
not have occurred naturally, but this is not true," the New Scientist's
biology editor Michael Le Page wrote.
"Flu viruses consisting of a mixture of human, swine and bird strains have
been found before."
Sound science, however, is no match for the Internet and unsubstantiated
media reports when it comes to providing a forum for ideas that have forced
responses from governments and companies alike.
China's Ministry of Agriculture, for example, on Wednesday denied overseas
reports charging that dead pigs found in a south eastern province might be
to blame for swine flu, according to an official Xinhua news agency article.
And in Mexico reports in at least two newspapers focused on a factory farm
run by a subsidiary of global food giant Smithfield Foods. Some of the
rumors mentioned noxious fumes from pig manure and flies -- neither a known
vector for flu viruses.
Those reports brought a swift reply from the biggest U.S. hog producer.
"Based on available recent information, Smithfield has no reason to believe
that the virus is in any way connected to its operations in Mexico," the
company said in a statement.
Viruses spread much more easily on factory farms where animals are packed
together than in the wild but so far there is no evidence that any one
particular farm is the source.
(Editing by Maggie Fox and Richard Hubbard)
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