Bushmeat vector for HIV?

[instar]

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6239

 

[herptrader]

I found these stats interesting.

I presume that the same figures for Australia would see numbers under 100 for all categories of species listed.

The bush-meat trade is not the only way new diseases could jump into humans. The trade in wildlife, both for agriculture and as pets, is a major global business estimated to be worth billions of dollars. In 2002 alone, for instance, over 38,000 mammals, 365,000 birds, two million reptiles, 49 million amphibians, and 216 million fish were imported into the US.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

i think we lose more than a hundred birds to smugglers and im sure our reptiles are leaving the country, by the bagful, or do mean legal departures??
i hope im wrong,but we all know what our wildlife is worth to some inscrupulous dealers..any way back to the thread,i think ill tell the mrs to leave the bushmeat off the shopping list,,,at least till we find a cure for h.i.v

bazmo

 

[herptrader]

I was thinking of imports.

Illegal smuggling is a different question.

 

[peterescue]

Zoonoptic illness is of course something that we should all consider. There are several well known diseases from birds.
My main consideration at the moment is parasites. I had a brush with mites again. They where on the garage floor. They hadnt gotten into any enclosures yet. I then had a reaction to the bites and now have a staf infection and am on antibiotics.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

That story is amazing. Next time I catch syphillus I'll just tell my wife I got it from eating wild kangaroo.

 

[herptrader]

There are bird diseases that humans can catch - noteably the bird flu's which mutate regularly into something that people can catch.

Diseases like Aids are from animals similar to humans such as the apes. With there ape hosts they are not much of a problem - sort of in the common cold category but with humans it is a new disease for us and we have no resistance to it.

For meat from kangaroos (also cattle and sheep) because these animals are very dissimilar the chances of us catching something are much reduced.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

That story is amazing. Next time I catch syphillus I'll just tell my wife I got it from eating wild kangaroo.

whatdid u tell her last time
baz

 

[Hickson]

For meat from kangaroos (also cattle and sheep) because these animals are very dissimilar the chances of us catching something are much reduced.

Catching a virus from them, yes, much reduced. But there is still a high chance of parasites if the meat is not prepared properly.

And bushmeat is usually not cooked (or not cooked properly) - cooking kills viruses. Bushmeat is dried, it lasts much longer that way. That's how the virus survives. Interesting to note that they don't mention the 50 people who died from Ebola in Gabon three years ago, and the 11 that died last year from eating gorilla meat.

For those interested, 150 fatalities from an outbreak or Marburg have been reported in the last few weeks in Angola.



Hix

 

[tourett]

Diseases like Aids are from animals similar to humans such as the apes. With there ape hosts they are not much of a problem - sort of in the common cold category but with humans it is a new disease for us and we have no resistance to it.

For meat from kangaroos (also cattle and sheep) because these animals are very dissimilar the chances of us catching something are much reduced.

They are still not sure if the SARS breakout in China was not caused from eating Civets which are cats.
Tourett

 

[tourett]

That story is amazing. Next time I catch syphillus I'll just tell my wife I got it from eating wild kangaroo.

What you're planning on catching it again?:wink:

Tourett

 

[herptrader]

I am a bit worried about what the Panda is going to catch from ssssnakeman ....

 

[Hickson]

They are still not sure if the SARS breakout in China was not caused from eating Civets which are cats.

They're not cats, although the media reports at the time said they were. Civets belong to the Viverridae, the same family as Mongooses.



Hix