I'm almost afraid to go outdoors. I watched 60 Minutes II tonight. Part of the program was about a new virus (I think called nipa, or something like that) that has a 40% mortality rate. Virologist from Australia were trying to track down the origin of this disease in Malaysia. As far as they could tell, from the first, it seemed to originate with pigs. But how did pigs get it?
The scientists travelled to a small island off the eastern coast of Malaysia where they had tracked the virus. The island is Tioman. Bats were thought to be the agent of dispersion of the virus. But how did pigs get involved?
Well, it was quite simple. One of the researchers found a piece of mango in the pen where the pigs had been afflicted. Lab testing showed the piece contained the virus. And how did the piece of mango get in the pig pen? Branches of the mango tree overhung the pen. Apparently, the bats fed on the mango, and pigs fed on the pieces dropped by the bats, or fruits dropped from the trees. And in all cases where pigs were affected, there was a mango tree by the pens. So pig farmers were advised not to plant mango trees near pig pens. Curiously, though, the bats didn't seem affected by the virus. I don't recall anything being said about humans eating the mangos. Odd.
But the question of how the virus got started in the mango wasn't answered. And I'm not quite sure how the disease spread from that small island to the mainland. But spread it did.
Anyway, thousands of pigs were slaughtered and buried in deep, deep graves. This is another example of disease being passed from animals to humans. One of the virologists mentioned that if they had the same investigative techniques years ago, HIV/AIDS would have been discovered in chimpanzees, and the spread to humans could have been prevented, or at least mitigaged.
The laboratory is so secure that the 60 Minutes reporter had to gain permission to do the story and enter the lab. Everyone in the lab was dressed completely, head to toe, in protective gear. The disease is so virulent that people who are exposed can die in as short a time as 48 hours, and certainly last no more than a week. There is no cure found yet.
Scary, isn't it?