Nipah Virus Infections

‘Spillover’ by David Quammen is most definitely one of the more unique, yet applicable novels I have read in quite some time. As someone who is interested in attending pharmacy school and ultimately dealing with disease and sickness for the rest of my life, I found it very mesmerizing to learn about how certain zoonotic diseases came to be. With that said, I’ll go right into the first chapter: “Pale Horse”. This chapter focuses on the virus now known as Hendra. It started in a place known as Brisbane, Australia (more specifically a northern suburb known as Hendra) in 1994 where some horses began experiencing the disease. This also ultimately led to some human infections, some of which causes fatalities. Vic Rail, a horse trainer, was the first human to fatally experience Hendra

Hand, foot, and mouth are parts of human body have the highest change to get contagious infection. There are many viruses but Enterovirus groups, (most common is the coxsackie virus) is the main factor. These viruses can spread through direct contact from person to person especially with those have bad habits such as: unusually washed hands or surfaces contaminated with feces. An infected person’s saliva, stool, or respiratory secretions can transmit the infection.

Provide some examples of sources of infection for novel diseases, including the mode of transmission for WNV. Why is this concern?

The mutation of existing viruses, the spread of existing viruses from one host species to another, and the dissemination of a viral disease from a small, isolated population that can lead to widespread epidemics.

Infectious epidemics and pandemics have happened all through mankind's history. “They remain the prime cause of death worldwide and will not be conquered during our lifetimes.” The flu of 1918 was one of the deadliest epidemics in history. “It infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic.” No one knew how the virus spread, there were no antibiotics to fight it, and no flu shots to prevent it. In the final year of World War I, it struck terror in the hearts of people all across Europe and left more death in its wake than the combined military actions of the combatants. “It killed more Americans in a few months than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the

In the infectious disease unit, the main focal point consisted of showing the audience how the spread of a major virus may occur in population. In this case, we were presented with two movies: Contagion and 28 Days Later. These movies both displayed an infectious disease, which is spread through animals causing harm to people. A scenario that presented in Contagion seemed to be realistic possibility because a simple transmission of disease from an animal can happen. If the virus is unknown and no vaccine is available, it could certainly cause a lot of harm to a large population of people. Likewise, another possibility was also presented in 28 Days Later, where the viewers see scientist talking about monkey being infected with a virus.

There is a new disease on the way. We are not sure how it works, but please be careful of any newcomers in your village. We have all heard of the horrible deaths it has been causing, and now it seems to be spreading even quicker.

This article is relevant to the topic of biology, more specifically; diseases that threaten animal populations. Adenovirus, a wasting disease, poses a threat to the extinction of starfish populations.

​The origin of the disease has been described at the end of the movie where we find out that a bat with a virus known as paramyxovirus that infects a pig. The pigs that are for human consumption were located near a forest that was being cut down. The pig in turn infects human beings of the earth through a chef. The agent which is very infectious is known as MEV-1 and its potential spread is estimated at 6-7 which suggests that the virus is highly transmissible from one person to the next. The virus has been compared to that of a smallpox virus with a mortality rate of up to 30%.

“The rodents spread the plague from China to Europe and it hit Britain in 1348.”(Bates, Claire) So if the world is so populated more people will be homeless, and the disease could spread easier wiping out millions. The black death was also spread by people getting bites from infected rats, the disease travels through the body into the lungs, and when the person coughs or sneezes, the disease is transmitted into the air and can infect people who breath in that same air. So if the world becomes too over populated and there aren’t enough houses people will be living on the streets where disease could spread easier and faster just like the black death. “Indirect contact infections spread when an infected person sneezes or coughs, sending infectious droplets into the air.”(DIRECT…) So if everyone if coughing and sneezing then anyone who breathes in that contaminated air could get the disease. “Last year, it called dengue the “most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease” in the world—faster than West Nile virus or malaria.”(The deadly…) If this disease was to break out when the world is overpopulated a disease could take out almost half the entire human race.There are hundreds of diseases that can be spread by animals, some examples are all types of Influenza, Bubonic Plague, zoonotic diseases, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and Polio. One disease is the Zika virus, it is spread by mosquito bites who bite women and when if the infected women gets pregnant the Zika virus transfers the virus to the child, once the child is born the child could be born with a fatal brain defect. When the world becomes more populated more people could get bit with more mosquitos and get the Zika virus and a whole new generation of kids could be born with a brain

A number of studies have supported the theory that the virus had originally occurred in animals previous to human infections.5 The MERs-CoV virus is a type of coronavirus that has been known for infecting both birds and many species of mammals. These types of infections are commonly referred to as zoonotic diseases because the pathogens are able to be transferred from animals to humans. Zoonosis can happen with or without a vector in order to spread the infection. Although the exact origin of the MERs-CoV infections is unknown, there has been convincing research performed that has found related types of coronaviruses in bats and camels. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the coronavirus is found in multiple species and can cause respiratory illness and gastrointestinal upset.

Hanta virus is a dangerous and often deadly disease that must be guarded against. If proper precautions are not taken, hanta virus could lead to a nationwide outbreak causing many deaths. While there are a few cases of hanta virus reported each year, the consequences of coming down with the disease dictates that the U.S. set up certain safeguards to educate the population on how to protect themselves. Even though research is being done on hanta virus and its related illnesses, there persist many unanswered questions.

Because improvements in nutrition and sanitation have been made, many epidemics have ended. As longevity of life increases, chronic diseases have taken the place of infectious disease as the leading cause of death. The different modes of transmission, disease development, and disease spectrum are all important factors to consider when studying the transmission of communicable diseases. It is also important to know about emerging infectious diseases. It is important to be aware of these diseases so that signs of these symptoms can be easily recognizable to provide the best patient care.

Another important suggestion made by the public health experts is collaboration between the human and animal health sectors in the affected countries. An alliance between the two domains is essential to understand the risk of transmission of MERS-CoV between animals and humans, that there is a seasonal variation in virus circulation in animals and reservoir (s) of MERS- CoV

When reflecting on the history of the human species, it is said that the narrative of mankind and infectious diseases are intertwined. For centuries, humans have been exposed to a seemingly infinite amount of contagions. Many viruses, bacteria, and fungi have plagued human beings for ages and have eradicated populations thousands at a time. Through medical innovations and the advancement of scientific knowledge, humans have been able to combat disease and disease-carrying vectors. Through proper hygiene, antibiotics and vaccinations humans have been able to control and eliminate many viruses and bacteria. It would seem that with the growing amount of medical knowledge, that infections would be less common, but this is not the case.