Guest guest Posted October 2, 2005 Report Share Posted October 2, 2005 this is amazing -- and scary.... the final comment by epstein is right-on! http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2005/09/29/sars/index.html?source=daily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 2, 2005 Report Share Posted October 2, 2005 It is - I hope they don't start killing off bats in their millions. Jo - ank_art Sunday, October 02, 2005 5:42 PM Re: Re: possible "carnivore" origin of SARS this is amazing -- and scary.... the final comment by epstein is right-on! http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2005/09/29/sars/index.html?source=daily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 2, 2005 Report Share Posted October 2, 2005 Weeeellllllll, his statement ("These diseases emerge because of human activities. If we just protected ecosystems, we'd protect both animal and human health. It's a preventable thing -- that's the bottom line.") is only kinda true. Bats are notorious as disease carriers and protecting their habitat or the ecosystem wouldn't protect humans from any disease they carry. They bite people, they have an inclination to like to live in houses and it is usually their poop and the dust resulting from it that is the culprit. There are cases every year of folks who get rabies from bats that either haven't been bitten (enhaled dust from an attic that they were living in) or were bitten and didn't even know they had been near a bat. I don't exactly how humans are getting SARS but I'd be willing to be that it is another one that can be transmitted via the dust where these critters live. And, btw, just to be clear, I like bats and think they are soooo homely they are cute <g>! Lynda - ank_art Sunday, October 02, 2005 9:42 AM Re: Re: possible "carnivore" origin of SARS this is amazing -- and scary.... the final comment by epstein is right-on! http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2005/09/29/sars/index.html?source=daily Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.9/116 - Release 9/30/2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 2, 2005 Report Share Posted October 2, 2005 Hi Lynda > Bats are notorious as disease carriers and protecting their habitat or the ecosystem wouldn't protect humans from any > disease they carry. The "standard" statement is that vampire bats (the only species which "bites" anything bigger than insects) spread rabies... and yet, there has not been one single proven case of a human catching rabies from a bat. > They bite people What complete baldredash. Vampire bats very ocassionally bite humans, but it is *very* rare - they usually pick on poultry and cattle. And there is no actual evidence that they spread diseases. > There are cases every year of folks who get rabies from bats that either haven't been bitten (enhaled dust from an attic that > they were living in) or were bitten and didn't even know they had been near a bat. Nope - there's not a single proven case... just a lot of assumption. > And, btw, just to be clear, I like bats and think they are soooo homely they are cute <g>! At least we agree on that. BB Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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