Worried about mad-cow? what about swine AIDS?

[donsu]

(and this is political)

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/SecondOpinion/secondopinion010330.html

-snip-

Pigs Are Dying

The reproductive and respiratory syndrome, which often kills baby pigs, is characterized by a variety of conditions and is causing economic hardship for pig farmers. Affected mothers lose up to 10 percent of their pregnancies. Their babies are spontaneously aborted or are stillborn. As many as 20 percent to 30 percent of survivors may suffer and die from respiratory disease, such as pneumonia.

-snip-

Monte McCaw, a PRRS researcher with North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, believes that while the differences between PRRS and AIDS are obvious to researchers, it is also important to study the similarities.

McCaw has so far been low-key about his AIDS-related findings. I had to initially research farm bulletins, obscure scientific reports and speeches he gave in order to piece some of his views together.

“I am stunned you found this,” he said, after I had almost given up trying to contact him for an interview.

-snip-

(here he lists 5 ways the pig problem is like AIDS)

-snip-

McCaw, Dee and Lautner all agree that much more research will be necessary in order to get a proper handle on PRRS, in the hopes of better understanding and controlling it. They point to the manner in which the PRRS virus is capable of changing and the difficulty this creates for vaccine strategies against the virus.

Much more will need to be learned about how the pig’s immune system behaves in PRRS. Will PRRS, for example, be capable of unleashing some previously undetected microbe in pigs that could potentially be transmitted to humans?
-snip-
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note the mention of pneumonia.

In the past I gave up all meat and seafood but pork. pork just went on my list of what not to eat.

[uptohere]

1. alright, whos been 'stuffing the sauage' ?

.

[FullCountNotRecount]

2. Sounds like the African Swine Fever Virus

which out Government infected Cuban pigs with and killed off their pig population in the 1960s-1970s.

Makes you wonder if something didn't jump species...

[donsu]

3. I didn't know they did that - thanks for posting

nt

[hlthe2b]

4. I guess not a problem unless you are insane enough...

to have sex with Limbaugh? :evilgrin:

[Deja Q]

5. I wonder how it originated

Some gay guy pork a pig? :eyes: You know that's what the freeper fundies are saying.

Maybe PETA is behind it. :shrug: First cows, now pigs. Expect some great chicken escapade to come about next.

It's vegetarian time for me, I'm not putting any meat in my mouth ever again! :P

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Venison and grouse meat for me.

Gotta get the ol' deer rifle sighted in one of these days, and maybe get in a little practice on my wing shot. Missed a lotta birds last year.

[curse10]

7. More reasons not to eat meat

It's getting harder and harder to justify the killing of animals for human consumption.

[maggrwaggr]

8. unless this is a prion, you can eat the meat if it's cooked

the trouble with Mad Cow is that it's not a virus or a bacteria, it's caused by a "prion", which is an altogether thing not even considered to be a true life form.

So if you eat these prions, even if they're cooked, even if they're ground to dust and baked, you'll still catch the disease.

That's what made Mad Cow disease so fucking scary and why they just had to burn thousands and thousands of livestock.