G
gsgs
has anyone ever infected a guinea pig with influenza ?
gsgs said:I was reading this:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0604157103v1
they are using guinea pigs now instead of mice for influenza-experiments !
pigs do get influenza, this is a big problem.
It is supposed that human flu went to pigs in 1918 and that there
are no reports of flu in pigs (AFAIK) before 1900.
Since then flu occasionally jumps from humans to pigs and vice versa.
In 1976 the USA set up a program to vaccinate the whole
population for "swine-flu", this was abandonned because of side-effects
after about 40million people had been vaccinated.
gsgs said:> There is absolutely nothing in this publication to suggest that the strain of flu they used
> can pass between humans and pigs or vice versa
That pretty much suggests that this sort of guinea pigs can easily get this strain
of influenza from humans,pigs,maybe birds,dogs
gsgs said:influenza is not so common, it is caused by different strains,
most common in humans H1N1 and H3N2 currently.
It could be that guinea pigs are almost asymptomatic with it
but could still spread it - in theory.
It could depend on the sort of guinea pig.
There is concern, that H5N1 might cause a pandemic (I estimate 7% probability
per year) and if it does and guinea pigs are spreaders, then they may have to be culled...
same for dogs,cats, other pets. H5N1 is really evil.
SunshineAndTwinkle said:As a mother H5N1 has concerned me and if there is a pandemic then I have an emergency plan. I will not go out, Peter will not go to to work, we will live on dried foods until the virus passes. Nobody gets in nobody gets out and nobody is going to cull my pigs! Hell will freeze over before then! :tickedoff:
SunshineAndTwinkle said:My Dad thinks I'm mad, Peter has to earn morning he tells me! I said I haven't had children to loose them to a virus such as this! No way! And all the work I put in with the pigguns I feel the same way about them! I can imagine my mother would continue to shop though and not think there was anything wrong! ;D