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Pigs, Ferrets and Flu

And so the panic may begin again. 

A new flu virus found in pigs in Korea may have the potential to infect humans. We aren’t that similar to pigs in our genes, but we are pretty close to ferrets… and they are getting sick too. And the virus grew in human tissue in the lap.

It is interesting to note, and I did not know this, is that ferrets are the favoured proxy for humans in flu research.

 “That makes it a bit scary,” says Robert Webster, a virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, who co-wrote the research paper. So far, the virus has not been found in people, but “if it is in the pig, beware,” he says.

All that has to happen is a bit of genetic mixing or reassortment in the virus for it to start infecting us. Unfortunately, pigs are known to be perfect mixing vessels for the virus, so this is a major cause for concern. H1N1 (back in 2009 – remember?!) made ferrets sick.

Many different mutations could occur, from changing the proteins on the virus’s outer surface (which affects adhesion to our respiratory cells) to changing other proteins which are involved in making them more infectious.

But don’t panic, just because our weasely friends get sick, doesn’t mean we will. Yet. *insert dramatic music here*

Article Source: www.sciencenews.org