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Will SARS make a come back?

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  • Will SARS make a come back?



    A dog is thrown into a cage at a market in the Baiyun district of China's southern city of Guangzhou October 20, 2003. Health experts have warned that wild game markets like this one may be the source of the next SARS (news - web sites) epidemic which many fear will emerge this winter, but traders and workers here could not be more oblivious. Picture taken October 20, 2003. TO ACCOMPANY FEATURE SARS CHINA MARKET REUTERS/Kin Cheung


    A dog is clamped before being clubbed to death at a market in the Baiyun district of China's southern city of Guangzhou October 20, 2003. Health experts have warned that wild game markets like this one may be the source of the next SARS (news - web sites) epidemic which many fear will emerge this winter, but traders and workers here could not be more oblivious. Picture taken October 20, 2003. TO ACCOMPANY FEATURE SARS CHINA MARKET REUTERS/Kin Cheung




    Dogs in cages are weighed a market in the Baiyun district of China's southern city of Guangzhou on Oct. 20, 2003. Health experts have warned that wild game markets like this one may be the source of the next SARS (news - web sites) epidemic, which many fear will emerge this winter, but traders and workers here could not be more oblivious. Photo by Kin Cheung/Reuters



    A leopard cat lies inside a cage at a market in the Baiyun district of China's southern city of Guangzhou October 20, 2003. Health experts have warned that wild game markets like this one may be the source of the next SARS (news - web sites) epidemic which many fear will emerge this winter, but traders and workers here could not be more oblivious. Picture taken October 20, 2003. TO ACCOMPANY FEATURE SARS CHINA MARKET REUTERS/Kin Cheung



    A civet cat lies inside a cage at a market in the Baiyun district in China's southern city of Guangzhou October 20, 2003. Health experts have warned that wild game markets like this one may be the source of the next SARS (news - web sites) epidemic which many fear will emerge this winter, but traders and workers here could not be more oblivious. Picture taken October 20, 2003. TO ACCOMPANY FEATURE SARS CHINA MARKET REUTERS/Kin Cheung


    Bloody Animal Trade Thrives in Post-SARS China
    Sun Oct 26, 8:50 AM ET Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!

    GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Two little boys giggle as they play hide and seek among hundreds of filthy cages packed tight with civet cats, dogs, porcupines and squirrels.

    Health experts fear that wild animal markets like this one in southern China's Baiyun district could be the source of the next SARS (news - web sites) epidemic that many fear will emerge this winter, but traders and workers here could not be more oblivious.

    Amid the stench of death and decay, traders of exotic animals -- a culinary delight for many southern Chinese -- haggle over prices with customers, occasionally turning their attention to their children, pinching their cheeks or tousling their hair.

    Narrow passageways are strewn with animal dung, urine, entrails and grimy fodder.

    "What's there to be afraid of?" asked Mrs. Huang, carrying her three-month-old daughter on her back. "We have been working and living here for years and we have had no problems."

    A few steps away, men with iron pipes clubbed a dog unconscious and slit its throat. Others squatted around another dead dog, plucking it clean of hair with their bare fingers.

    Virologists believe that such markets in China and farms where people live in very close proximity to animals are fertile breeding grounds for disease and viruses.

    China banned the wild animal trade and shut the markets in May, around the time that scientists in Hong Kong identified viruses in a civet cat and raccoon dog that were almost identical to the SARS virus that had infected more than 8,000 people around the world, killing more than 700 of them.

    The finding gave credence to widespread speculation that the virus, which first surfaced in southern China last November, may have jumped the species barrier from animals to humans.

    But when Chinese experts failed to verify the report, the trading ban was lifted and the markets reopened in August.

    Civet cats, which are not true cats but are related to the cat family, have also returned to the menus of many restaurants in Guangdong, China's most prosperous province.

    In February, a doctor from Guangdong infected with SARS traveled to neighboring Hong Kong, one of just hundreds of thousands of people who cross the border each day. Visitors to Hong Kong then unwittingly carried SARS to more than 30 countries around the world.

    SARS: ANIMAL VIRUS OR BIOCHEMICAL WEAPON?
    Beijing, stung by worldwide criticism after it tried to cover up the initial SARS outbreak, has ordered that all wild animals destined for dinner tables must be reared on farms, where they can be monitored for signs of disease.

    But many animals in the Baiyun market were missing limbs , clear indicators that they were trapped in the wild. Left to bleed and confined in cages so small and crowded that they could not move, many were badly infected and barely alive.

    Still, animal traders are dismissive of what experts have to say about the possible origins of SARS.

    "SARS cannot have anything to do with the civet cat or any animal that's sold here. They are a part of our lives and there is no one here I know who has died," said Yang Dong, 25, who has been in the wild animal trade since leaving secondary school.

    "I am hardly ever ill and I eat civet cats all the time," he said, flexing his arm muscles proudly.

    Standing with one foot on a cage with a civet cat gnawing the sole of his shoe, Yang said of SARS: "I bet it is caused by some biochemical weapon."

    However, a recent study in Guangzhou found SARS antibodies in about 13 percent of animal traders, indicating that they had been exposed to the virus. One of many unanswered questions about SARS is whether people with mild or no symptoms can infect others.

    The civet cat has long been highly prized for its tender meat, which is reputed to help blood circulation, but there are growing signs that more Chinese believe it could pose a health threat.

    An average civet cat, similar in size to a typical house cat, used to command up to 800 yuan ($98). Since the SARS outbreak, they sell for only 200 yuan.

    But few medical experts believe that the trade is about to disappear. Demand is especially strong in winter, as Chinese believe that wild animal meat helps keep the body warm.

    "It's hard to stop a trade that is so old. If it must go on, then we should have it properly regulated and monitored," said Guan Yi, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong.

    No one knows how much the wild animal trade is worth, although traders at Baiyun claim over a million yuan a day changes hands. Trader Yang suffered losses for the first time when officials closed the Baiyun market this year.

    "I lost over 10,000 yuan. But even I am among the lucky ones. Some of my friends lost several hundred thousand!" Yang said.

    "If this trade is stopped permanently, how are we going to survive? So many people and their families depend on it."

    Credits: Paguma/PDF

    Not another time :cry :puke
    A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

  • #2
    I'm sorry, but I'm a dog lover. These people deserve whatever disease their market breeds for 'em.

    Why can't we ship over some f**king McDonalds stores? They've got 'em everywhere else. Think about it... your choice, $1.00 for a double cheeseburger, or whatever the going rate is for a sickly, SARS-infected carcass of "man's best friend"?

    (** I realize it's their market/economy/tradition/whatever, I'm just frustrated. Hope nobody gets on one of those "put yourself in their shoes" kicks; personally I don't give a damn. Okay, just wanted to clarify that. **)
    I never understood "fire for effect". I thought the firing WAS the effect...

    Comment


    • #3
      Ok I can understand cultural differences and all that... but in this case I just don't care I hope those bastards get a mutated airborne, slow acting, more lethal version of ebola.
      Your look more lost than a bastard child on fathers day.

      Comment


      • #4
        fuckers...
        if they eat dogs... they should fucking die... havent they got any descent food?
        i dont care if all of them die of SARS, just seal the borders and shoot all the tresspassers.


        i wub doggies.

        Comment


        • #5
          hmm, damn do you eat beef?
          i love cows, i'm gonna shoot everyone who eats beef :roll

          the world doesnt work that way Qwert :)
          A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

          Comment


          • #6
            The 2002-03 SARS crisis and the 2019-20 corona virus

            Almost exactly 17 years before the outbreak of the corona virus in Wuhan, China, the pandemic known as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) blew through China and out into the world.

            Over 8,000 infections were officially recorded (and, it is widely assumed, many multiples of that figure were not identified), and 774 deaths in 17 countries. Within 18 months, the disease had burned itself out. No cases have been reported since 2004. The first lesson learned by those of us living in Hong Kong at the time was not to trust any Mainland Chinese official sources. It took three months for the authorities to inform the World Health Organization of the outbreak, by which time the disease had spread far and wide.

            This time is different, although the pattern seen in 2002-03 may be instructive. Within the first two months, more than 14,500 cases have been reported, and 307 deaths. However, it must be stressed that more reporting does not necessarily mean there are more cases than in the previous incidence. Moreover, the vast majority of cases (14,462 of 14,642) are still in China, and all but one fatality.

            In Hong Kong, two significant changes were evident after SARS was contained: the seven year-long economic depression lifted, and people sharply improved their daily hygiene habits.

            The end of the long economic slump was not caused by SARS, but certainly the shock and fear played a role in shaking people out of their emotional depression. The sense of relief was a reason to celebrate, and supported by government funding, the city held a series of open-air concerts and festivals.

            At the same time, people almost entirely stopped spitting on the streets. Those who felt even slightly unwell wore face masks, and everyone learned to cough into a handkerchief, tissue or the inside of their elbow. Sadly talk of investing in a world-class infectious disease identification and control center came to naught. And, after a dozen years or so, some bad habits (particularly public spitting) began to re-emerge.

            The key lesson learned, at least among those of us without professional training, is that hygiene is important; honest and transparent reporting is absolutely essential; and that ‘hot’ viruses that kill quickly also tend to burn out within a relatively brief time.
            Trust me?
            I'm an economist!

            Comment


            • #7
              I find it odd that the Chinese government is protesting travel restrictions and suspension of international flights due to coronavirus, when it's doing to same exact thing internally.
              "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by DOR View Post
                Moreover, the vast majority of cases (14,462 of 14,642) are still in China
                We have 13 cases in Germany, all sourced to China in a fully traced pattern.

                To be specific, a Chinese person who was infected held a presentation at a company (before she flew back to China). 8 people who attended have been found to have the virus, as do the wife and two children of one of them. The only other cases are two out of 124 people med-evaced by the German Air Force from Wuhan, with the remainder of the group under quarantine at a base near me. Further spread has been recorded, with an acquaintance of one of those 8 from the company presenting the first case in the Canary Islands (vacationing there).

                Comment


                • #9
                  An excellent article explaining what goes on when trying to track down how a virus moves through a population such as this current one. Procedures, sleuthing, and so forth.

                  https://www.latimes.com/science/stor...ence-mysteries

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by DOR View Post
                    The key lesson learned, at least among those of us without professional training, is that hygiene is important; honest and transparent reporting is absolutely essential; and that ‘hot’ viruses that kill quickly also tend to burn out within a relatively brief time.
                    The key lesson is that there is one and only one way to deal with any contagious virus - quarrantine. We might have gotten a bit sophisticated with whom to quarrantine but in the end, that is the only way to stop a virus spread. We have to let the human body kill the virus on its own, even if it means letting the human body die along with the virus. Cruel but effective.
                    Chimo

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Less than 1% fatality rate outside Wuhan.
                      Vast majority of serious/fatal cases are among people with already serious illnesses, or compromised immune systems.
                      Only the most severe cases admitted to hospital in China.
                      Very likely to burn itself out in 2-3 months.

                      Wash your hands.
                      Cover your mouth.
                      Trust me?
                      I'm an economist!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by DOR View Post
                        Less than 1% fatality rate outside Wuhan.
                        Vast majority of serious/fatal cases are among people with already serious illnesses, or compromised immune systems.
                        Only the most severe cases admitted to hospital in China.
                        Very likely to burn itself out in 2-3 months.
                        Quarrantine.

                        Originally posted by DOR View Post
                        Wash your hands.
                        Cover your mouth.
                        Helps for NC and influenza in general but does nothing for real hot virus such as ebola or the black plague. BTW, black plague was the first time when quarrantine was first used.
                        Last edited by Officer of Engineers; 08 Feb 20,, 17:55.
                        Chimo

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Jay View Post
                          hmm, damn do you eat beef?
                          i love cows, i'm gonna shoot everyone who eats beef :roll

                          the world doesnt work that way Qwert :)
                          Some parts of the world do seem to work exactly that way.

                          Bloomberg News (20 February 2019): "Radical cow protection groups in India have killed at least 44 people over the last three years and often received support from law enforcement and Hindu nationalist politicians, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch."
                          .
                          .
                          .

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by DOR View Post
                            Less than 1% fatality rate outside Wuhan.
                            Vast majority of serious/fatal cases are among people with already serious illnesses, or compromised immune systems.
                            Only the most severe cases admitted to hospital in China.
                            Very likely to burn itself out in 2-3 months.
                            If it reaches Africa, I think there's a real possibility of it turning into a pandemic affecting millions.
                            "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              It's not that simple as media houses want to you believe. We can have a discussion somewhere else over it.

                              14 held for cattle smuggling in Assam

                              That ^ is the main reason. Apart from some other reasons. Law not taking its course in India affects every crime, be it rapes, murders or as simple as robbery.
                              Politicians are elected to serve...far too many don't see it that way - Albany Rifles! || Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it - Mark Twain! || I am a far left millennial!

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