from the calm-down-it's-not-another-pandemic dept.
Dog Coronavirus Jumps to Humans, With a Protein Shift
Dog coronavirus jumps to humans, with a protein shift:
A new canine coronavirus was first identified in two Malaysian human patients who developed pneumonia in 2017-18. A group of other scientists isolated the canine coronavirus, sequenced it and published their findings in 2021.
Now, a team led by Cornell and Temple University researchers has identified a pattern that occurs in a terminus of the canine coronavirus spike protein -- the area of the virus that facilitates entry into a host cell: The virus shifts from infecting both the intestines and respiratory system of the animal host to infecting only the respiratory system in a human host.
The researchers identified a change in the terminus -- known as the N terminus -- a region of the molecule with alterations also detected in another coronavirus, which jumped from bats to humans, where it causes a common cold.
The paper, "Recent Zoonotic Spillover and Tropism Shift of a Canine Coronavirus is Associated with Relaxed Selection and Putative Loss of Function in NTD Subdomain of Spike Protein," was published April 21 in the journal Viruses.
"This study identifies some of the molecular mechanisms underlying a host shift from dog coronavirus to a new human host, that may also be important in the circulation of a new human coronavirus that we previously didn't know about," said Michael Stanhope, professor of public and ecosystem health in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Journal Reference:
Jordan D. Zehr, Sergei L. Kosakovsky Pond, Darren P. Martin, et al. Recent Zoonotic Spillover and Tropism Shift of a Canine Coronavirus Is Associated with Relaxed Selection and Putative Loss of Function in NTD Subdomain of Spike Protein, Viruses (DOI: 10.3390/v14050853)
Bird Flu Found in Colorado Man but Risk to Humans is Low, CDC Says
Bird Flu Found in Colorado Man but Risk to Humans Is Low, CDC Says:
A man in Colorado has tested positive for the H5N1 avian flu, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials said Thursday. The man, who's younger than 40 and an inmate at a state correctional facility, had direct exposure to infected poultry at a commercial farm in western Colorado.
The CDC and the Colorado Department of Public Health said the risk to the public remains low. The man is largely asymptomatic but is receiving treatment per CDC guidelines and is being kept away from others.
According to the CDC, this is the second human case "associated with this specific group of H5 viruses," and the first case in the US. H5N1 is the predominant bird flu virus in the world, but it remains rare in humans.
"We want to reassure Coloradans that the risk to them is low," said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, in a release.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @05:46PM (9 children)
Not reassuring...
Get ready for more lockdown and rationing of medical care
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @05:51PM (1 child)
No way is my dog going to wear a mask.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 07 2022, @03:03PM
This time they are going to mandate killing your dogs.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Friday May 06 2022, @06:17PM (6 children)
As our world continues to get smaller and smaller the risk of pandemics goes up and up.
So yes, we should all be prepared to respond to future pandemics.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @06:42PM (2 children)
Go learn to eat nothing, then. It is quite possible you won't need any future pandemics to have to put that skill to use, even. The braindead "responding" to the COVID "pandemic" has already made enough damage, including a shooting war between two major food-exporting nations.
The abject cowardice displayed by the West is an invitation for every predator in the whole wide world to come and take everything they can. Putin's campaign to take Ukraine is only the beginning.
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Friday May 06 2022, @09:31PM (1 child)
I for one am so glad that I have an Anonymous Coward here to tell me that the West are a bunch of cowards. /s
The only reason that NATO hasn't rolled over Russia is because Russia has nukes.
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @10:57PM
You are so very bold to fight your wars yapping over the Internet, indeed.
USSR had nukes since 1950, Russia has them now, no difference there. The difference is, men in the West had balls in 1950, in 1990 even, but have none now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @06:51PM
Yeah, we gotta speed up the patent office.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 07 2022, @11:39AM (1 child)
So why did the original post get mod Troll and this response Insightful when it just parrots the same conclusion?
Soylent has some REALLY BAD moderators.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday May 07 2022, @06:19PM
Different moderators. Not everybody sees things the same way.
(Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @05:48PM (5 children)
You eat pangolins, we get COVID. You eat dogs, we get COVID. You eat birds, we get Bird Flu. Why the hell don't you start eating healthy processed food like the rest of the civilized world.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @05:58PM (2 children)
Thee world already thinks Americans are dumb, no need to prove them right! You should have learned in elementary school that Colorado is an American state, not Chinese. Sigh, no wonder the US is screwed up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @06:38PM (1 child)
Are you certain there are no Chinamen in Colorado?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @07:05PM
No, but I bet I can get a govt. grant to study it.
And how about Chinawomen?
And probably lots of Chinakids.
And even more China plates, cups, saucers, fine China, etc.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday May 06 2022, @06:11PM (1 child)
Colorado inmate becomes first person in US to test positive for bird flu [theguardian.com]
Colorado man’s positive test for bird flu puts 10 people under health surveillance [statnews.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @06:21PM
He flu the coop?
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday May 06 2022, @06:35PM (2 children)
Dammit. I knew I shouldn't have slept with that chick from the furry convention.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @06:55PM
If she was in costume, how can you be sure she was a bio-female, esp. if you did it doggystyle?
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 06 2022, @07:20PM
Conservatives: I want to electroshock gay teens into a hellish submission
Everyone: holy shit
Conservatives: also why should I have to wear a mask? I’m not old or disabled
Everyone: wtf
Conservatives: also I’m afraid to say what’s really on my mind
Everyone:
Conservatives: Actually if you think about it ... SHOULD everyone be allowed to vote?
Everyone: holy shit
Conservatives: here’s why it’s good the police just murdered another child
Everyone: wtf
Conservatives: also I’m afraid to say what’s really on my mind
Everyone:
Conservatives: actually we should be able to run protesters over with our trucks
Everyone: holy shit
Conservatives: also I should be allowed to refuse to serve or hire gays
Everyone: wtf
Conservatives: also I’m afraid to say what’s really on my mind
Everyone:
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Barenflimski on Friday May 06 2022, @08:52PM
It seems like the more these folks "know," the more they freak out.
Pretty hard to argue that these folks aren't looking for these specific things that no one has spent billions studying before. Of course they find "new" viruses that are being passed from animals to humans and back. How is this surprising? We've known how viruses work and mutate for a long time.
The only thing scary about any of this is that the people in charge will say, "We don't know, so in the name of safety....," and subject the rest of us to their panic and small view of how planet earth works.
And to try to preempt the strawman arguments that will pop up here shortly, "You don't care. You're an idiot. You're an anti-vaxxer. Can't believe you don't believe people died of COVID. Etc..." I'm not saying, nor addressing any of these things in this post nor have I ever held any of those beliefs. God, I can't believe I have to asterisk my posts now.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday May 07 2022, @05:33AM (1 child)
It's canine, not cannine.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Saturday May 07 2022, @05:54AM
Fixed - thank you.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by inertnet on Saturday May 07 2022, @09:42AM (1 child)
"Man who received pig heart transplant has died after pig virus found [newscientist.com]"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 08 2022, @03:15PM
Which is one of the reasons some think using organs from other animals is a dumb idea.
More so when other tech (e.g. 3d printed organs made from your own cells, etc) continues to be making progress.