China's agriculture
authority has expanded the monitoring
for the H7N9 strain of bird flu
to pigs in order to have a
better understanding of the virus that
had infected at least 33 people by
Wednesday.
Monitoring pigs, in
addition to poultry and wild birds,
may provide a deeper understanding of
H7N9, including its origin, host range,
route of transmission and the degree
of harm, according to the Ministry
of Agriculture. The ministry issued an
emergency monitoring plan this week in
response to the outbreak of
H7N9.
Experts said that pigs
have been included in the plan
in an effort to better explore
the transmission route, since it is
still unknown why and how the
bird flu virus infects human
beings.
The World Health
Organization said on its website that
its analyses of the genes of
influenza A H7 viruses have shown
signs of adaptation to grow in
mammalian species.
"These adaptations
include an ability to bind to
mammalian cells and to grow at
temperatures close to the normal body
temperature of mammals (which is lower
than that of birds)," it
said.
The monitoring plan is
trying to find evidence of adaptation
if there is any, said Sun
Quanhui, a science adviser at the
World Society for the Protection of
Animals.
"By expanding the
exclusion range of virus infection,
the authorities will provide more
scientific evidence that will help
control and prevent human infection of
H7N9," said Sun.
Yao Jiezhang,
a veterinarian and spokesman for the
Beijing Bureau of Agriculture's animal
husbandry and veterinary station, said
that if pigs were found carrying
the virus, people would get infected
more easily.
"Since we share
more similarities in cells and body
temperature with pigs than poultry,
the likeliness of receiving the virus
from pigs is larger than from
birds," he added.
According to
the plan, the animal disease control
and prevention center of the
Agriculture Ministry will take samples
nationwide from live bird markets,
slaughterhouses, poultry farms and wild
bird habitats, and test them for
viruses.
Latest
development of H7N9 in
China[Special]
