Kindle books

Who else should be wearing masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19?


on

Researchers to begin testing new coronavirus vaccines on pigs first




Source:
https://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/livestock/researchers-begin-testing-new-coronavirus-vaccines-pigs-first
on

Are pigs in Canada infected with Covid-19? Quebec pork plant shut down due to COVID-19



The large pork production company has decided to close its facility at Yamachiche, Quebec for 14 days as of March 29 after nine employees were confirmed to have the virus.

https://www.realagriculture.com/2020/03/olymel-pork-plant-shut-down-due-to-covid-19/
on

The media loves science until science discovers that pigeons and pigs can be infected with covid-19


Source: Microbes and Infection
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1286457920300496
on

'If COVID-19 were to jump species again and be receptive to animals, a likely animal on the farm to catch it would be pigs, Kenney said. That’s because pigs have a similar protein to humans that the SARS virus, a coronavirus cousin to COVID-19, uses to infect humans. Studies show that it may work in pigs, too."



Source:
"Can livestock get COVID-19?" in Orange County Journal


on

Are pigs driving Lombardy's COVID-19 epidemic?



Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the population of pigs in Lombardy.

 Source:

https://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D10030.PDF
on

China doesn't want farmers concealing African Swine Fever but is China concealing COVID-19 in pigs?



https://www.tellerreport.com/business/2020-03-27---don-t-hide-the-epidemic!--official-announcement-on-african-swine-fever-.rySPr0MsIL.html

China News Service, March 27. According to the website information of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently issued an announcement saying that it is clearly stipulated that the African swine fever epidemic situation must not be concealed, and the African swine fever vaccine must not be used illegally.
The announcement said that in order to further strengthen the prevention and control of African swine fever, improve the responsibility system for the prevention and control of the entire pig industry chain, implement various policies and measures, standardize the prevention and control of epidemic situations, and severely crack down on illegal activities, the relevant regulations are now reiterated as follows.
1. Don't hide the epidemic situation. The production and operation entities such as pig breeding, transportation, and slaughter shall report to the local animal husbandry and veterinary department immediately if they are infected or suspected to be infected. The animal husbandry and veterinary department shall promptly regulate the reporting of the epidemic situation, and it is strictly forbidden to conceal, lie, report late, omission, and prevent others from reporting the epidemic situation.
2. It is not allowed to sell pigs suspected of being infected. It is not allowed to purchase, traffic, sell or discard pigs suspected of being infected. Anyone who is suspected of being infected with pigs shall immediately take measures such as isolation and movement restrictions.
3. Pigs cannot be fed directly from kitchen waste. For illegal use of kitchen waste to feed pigs, which may cause an epidemic situation or cause the epidemic to spread, culled pigs shall not be included in the compulsory culling subsidy of the central government.
4. The African swine fever vaccine must not be used illegally. Pigs that have been immunized with illegal vaccines and tested positive are considered to be infected with African swine fever, and must be killed in time without subsidies.
Fifth, it is not allowed to “open a card across the mountain”. The animal health supervision agency shall strictly accept the quarantine declaration of origin, and shall not accept the declaration beyond the jurisdiction and beyond the quarantine scope, and shall not refuse to accept the declaration that should be accepted. Animal quarantine personnel shall strictly quarantine and issue certificates, and prohibit the issuance of certificates without quarantine, resale of animal health badges, and illegal charges.
6. Pigs must not be transported in undocumented vehicles. The animal husbandry and veterinary department shall strictly manage the registration of live pig transportation vehicles, and urge the cargo owner or carrier to use the registered vehicles to transport live pigs. If it is found that the live pig transport vehicle has not been filed or has expired, the responsible person shall be ordered to make corrections in a timely manner.
7. The destination of live pig transportation shall not be changed without authorization. Cargo owners and carriers must transport live pigs strictly in accordance with the destination stated in the animal quarantine certificate, and must clean and disinfect the vehicle before loading and after unloading.
8. Problem pigs shall not be slaughtered. The pig slaughterhouse shall carefully check the source of the pigs, and shall not slaughter pigs of unknown origin, without animal quarantine qualification certificates, or without ear tags or incomplete ear tags. The African swine fever self-inspection system shall be implemented, and the test results shall not be concealed or tampered with.
9. Sick dead pigs shall not be discarded at will. The animal husbandry and veterinary department shall supervise the collection, transportation and handling of sick and dead pigs. The detoxification treatment plant shall strictly detoxify the treatment, and implement the cleaning and disinfection system for the treatment facilities and the transportation means for sick and dead pigs.

on

Pirbright Institute in England is testing a COVID-19 vaccine on pigs.



Pirbright begins testing potential COVID-19 vaccines on pigs

 Pirbright scientists will measure the level of antibodies produced after vaccination of pigs and assess whether the antibodies can block SARS-CoV-2 from infecting cells, thereby preventing infection.


The UK’s Pirbright Institute is to begin testing new coronavirus vaccines on animals to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Working in collaboration with researchers at the University of Oxford and Public Health England, the team of scientists at Pirbright will begin testing new vaccines for their ability to induce protective antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19.
Pirbright has a long history of research on livestock coronaviruses including porcine coronaviruses, which affect pigs, and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) that affects poultry. However, this marks the first time the institute has carried out research on human coronaviruses.
Source:

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/pirbright-begins-testing-new-covid-19-vaccines-on-animals/
on

Are pigeons an intermediate vector of COVID-19 in New York and other pandemic hotspots? Research: "Combining the results obtained by the two methods and considering the common animals living in Wuhan, we predicted pangolin, cat, cow, buffalo, goat, sheep and pigeon as the potential intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2, together with civet or swine."


Source: Microbes and Infection
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1286457920300496
on

"As a result, we predicted that SARS-CoV-2 tends to utilize ACE2s of various mammals, except murines, and some birds, such as pigeon. This prediction may help to screen the intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2."

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1286457920300496
on

Why isn't China telling us if pigs in Wuhan are infected with COVID-19?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1286457920300496
on

Combining the results obtained by the two methods and considering the common animals living in Wuhan, we predicted pangolin, cat, cow, buffalo, goat, sheep and pigeon as the potential intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2, together with civet or swine.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1286457920300496
on

How practical is “social distancing” between cattle, pigs, and the like?

Source: Farm Forum

Animal Health Matters: When should animals practice social distancing?
https://www.aberdeennews.com/farm_forum/animal-health-matters-when-should-animals-practice-social-distancing/article_5c8ed93c-6d5a-11ea-ae84-e7a6fe54c788.html


on

Doctors discuss using Chloroquine for COVID-19



"A flash of potential good news from the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic: A treatment is showing promise. Doctors in France, South Korea and the U.S. are using an antimalarial drug known as hydroxychloroquine with success. We are physicians treating patients with Covid-19, and the therapy appears to be making a difference. It isn’t a silver bullet, but if deployed quickly and strategically the drug could potentially help bend the pandemic’s “hockey stick” curve."
https://www.wsj.com/articles/these-drugs-are-helping-our-coronavirus-patients-11584899438
on

Is Lombardy an epicenter for COVID-19 because of pigs? Are The pigs in northern Italy infected with COVID-19? Have they been tested? What about pigs in Wuhan and wild boar in northern Iran?



on

Writer warns, "There’s the need to check animals close to humans, such as pets and livestock because there is the possibility that they can be infected by the virus and they become mechanical carriers without symptoms."

Covid-19: Why vet scientists should check livestock
https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/covid-19-why-vet-scientists-should-check-livestock.html


on

Are pigs in northern Italy free of COVID-19? Taiwan prohibits imports of live pigs from Italy.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3902023


on

Politicians are not letting Anthony Fauci have the final word on Chloroquine for COVID-19



"Damping President Trump’s comments was Dr. Anthony Fauci the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).  He alluded to Dr. Raoult’s work calling in “anecdotal.”  I understand and respect Dr. Fauci’s work in the public health field but also remind the public that most of science as we know it today begins with anecdotal and theoretical ideas.  What is important here is that HCQ has a long and safe history.  Dr. Fauci’s call for a large double-blind placebo study to evaluate the efficacy of HCQ in the treatment of COVID-19 is correct but not at the expense of dismissing HCQ efficacy as anecdotal.  Concurrent with Dr. Fauci’s “study” should be a gathering and sharing of all patient information worldwide when they have been treated with HCQ as a therapeutic agent. "

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/parsippany/articles/statement-from-n-j-state-senator-joe-pennacchio-president-trump-is-correct-in-his-approach-to-covid-19-drug-treatment
on

The World Health Organization needs to be pressed on the issue of whether pigs can be an intermediate vector of COVID-19



https://thepigsite.com/news/2020/03/oie-answers-your-questions-on-covid-19-and-essential-veterinary-care
on

The media is still ignoring the fact that potentially infected pork was sold at the Wuhan Seafood Market where COVID-19 broke out



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8130815/Death-rates-coronavirus-HALF-initial-estimates-world-health-chiefs.html
on

If COVID-19 is a coinfection of African Swine Fever, what role can Chloroquine play?




on

Using the isolated SARS-CoV-2 virus, the authors subsequently identified a critical host susceptibility factor [1]. When cultured cells overexpressed the transmembrane protein angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein from humans, bats, pigs, or civet cats, they became hypersensitized to infection, showing that ACE2 is a SARS-CoV-2 receptor



https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471490620300387
on

ACE2 in Pigs



"Immunohistochemistry showed that the ACE2 protein was expressed in all major 27 tissues of pigs. It is the first time that polyclonal antibody of ACE2 in pigs was 28 obtained and the expression of ACE2 was confirmed. These results will provide a 29 basis for investigating on ACE2’s biological activity in pigs." 
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.12.988634v1.full.pdf
on

COVID-19 in pigs: Is The Friedrich-Löffler-Institut (FLI) whistling in the dark?



Is The Friedrich-Löffler-Institut (FLI) whistling in the dark?


From their website (translated):


Is Corona's marketing of pigs at risk?

As long as there is no scientific evidence that pigs can become infected with the coronavirus or contribute to the spread of the virus, the FLI does not believe that studies of animals for slaughter are useful. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture (BMEL) also considers transmission via food to be unlikely. For the time being, therefore, pig farmers do not have to worry about the marketing of their animals.

on

The Friedrich-Löffler-Institut is currently testing the susceptibility of animals to SARS-CoV-2 in a series of tests and expects the first results at the end of April. Only then can the possible danger to humans and animals be assessed.



https://thepigsite.com/news/2020/03/covid-19-and-pigs-experts-answer-your-questions-on-the-novel-coronavirus
on

Are pigs the intermediate vector of COVID-19? Was the movie Contagion prophetic?

on

A pig vaccine for COVID-19 is being researched

"As previously reported a virus expert working at the John Innes Centre in Norwich is working on creating a vaccine against coronavirus in pigs - which if it works, could possibly be used on humans. Professor George Lomonossoff, who is an expert in viruses having worked for 40 years at the John Innes Centre, began his work studying plants. But for the past few months he has been experimenting on a vaccine to prevent coronavirus in pigs. If it works - and produces antibodies that create an immunity against the virus - he thinks it could be developed for possible use in humans against Covid-19."
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/health/scientists-hoping-coronavirus-vaccine-will-soon-be-ready-for-trials-1-6561396

on

Will new vaccine prevent pigs from infecting humans with COVID-19?



"The Company is now starting development of a vaccine to tackle COVID-19 for use in animals in partnership with the Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute and Kansas State University. The plan is to develop a vaccine designed to prevent COVID-19 and related coronaviruses jumping from animals into humans. TVG believes it is the only Company adopting such an approach."

https://www.marketscreener.com/FRONTIER-IP-GROUP-PLC-7272627/news/Frontier-IP-Portfolio-news-ndash-The-Vaccine-Group-Update-30155478/
on

Can a vaccine for a pig coronavirus protect against COVID-19?

Video
https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/3f010f7e-4eb1-11ea-9208-0242ac110002/?jwsource=cl
Dan Spector breaks a major story in Global News about Virologist Levon Abrahamyan's work with pig coronaviruses and his attempt to develop treatments and a pan-coronavirus vaccine for COVID-19
A University of Montreal researcher is doing his part to battle the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak from right here in Quebec.
Virologist Levon Abrahamyan has been studying viruses for decades, and on Thursday, he showed Global News a freezer full of samples of other strains of coronavirus, kept at – 80 C.
“We’re working on a porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, which is a coronavirus,” he explained, saying it’s over 90 per cent similar to the COVID-19 coronavirus the whole world is talking about.
“My goal is to find out how the virus enters to the cell, how it replicates, and how it transmits to a new cell,” said Abrahamyan.
He believes the work he does on animals in Saint-Hyacinthe could help find treatments for the coronavirus spreading between humans.
“It is possible to find out a vaccine or anti-viral treatment which could be a pan-coronoviral treatment,” the scientist explained.
Video:
Video https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/3f010f7e-4eb1-11ea-9208-0242ac110002/?jwsource=cl
Source:

Levon Abrahamyan

Virology, Genetics

Professeur adjoint
Faculté de médecine vétérinaire - Département de pathologie et microbiologie


Research expertise

The long-term goal of my research program is to better understand molecular mechanisms of interactions between animal viruses and their hosts in order to develop new strategies for effective control of viral infections. In my laboratory, we study molecular mechanisms of virus-host interactions of different viruses: the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV, a coronavirus), the Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV, a parvovirus), the porcine influenza virus, various arboviruses (Zika, dengue, etc.). Additionally, we are interested in studying viral pathogens that infect the honeybees (virome studies). Host-virus interactions are highly dynamic and may involve multiprotein complexes. My group is using cutting-edge molecular biology, microscopy, proteomics, classical and molecular virology approaches to decipher the interplay of the key molecular factors of the virus infection that contribute to the unique pathogenesis of the animal viruses that are  important for human and animal health. I believe that science popularization plays an important role in enhancing public service, promotes scientific literacy and awareness of global health. 



on

Infectious Disease Epidemiologist: "Looking for novel coronaviruses in pigs should be a top priority."



“This is a serious cause for concern,” says Gregory Gray, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Duke University. Pigs and humans have very similar immune systems, making it easy for viruses to cross between the two species. Moreover a team at Zhejiang University in the Chinese city of Hangzhou found the SADS virus could infect cells from many organisms in a petri dish, including rodents, chickens, nonhuman primates and humans. Given the scale of swine farming in many countries, such as China and the U.S., Gray says, looking for novel coronaviruses in pigs should be a top priority.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-chinas-bat-woman-hunted-down-viruses-from-sars-to-the-new-coronavirus1/
on

Business Insider: The most likely intermediary species for the new coronavirus are bats, pigs, civets, or pangolins (not snakes, as some researchers initially suggested). That's because these animals also have the same ACE2 receptors.



https://www.businessinsider.com/china-wuhan-coronavirus-compared-to-sars-2020-1#sars-jumped-from-bats-to-weasel-like-mammals-called-masked-palm-civets-then-to-humans-the-spillover-happened-in-wet-markets-in-guangdong-china-9
on
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

All Time Most Popular Posts

The ASF Novel

Previous Posts