Cross bred Flu Virus
The dangerous A/H1N1 virus has probably developed naturally in several stages. Several virus types have met in a single or in several animalic and human hosts, and developed into a new virus form.
The development of the swine flu virus might have happened like this:
- A bird suffering from a normal bird flu virus leaves some droppings where pigs can find it
- A pig suffering from a normal pig flu virus incorporates the bird’s droppings. The bird flu virus and the pig flu virus cross breed and get dangerous to birds and pigs as well.
- A pig suffering from the cross bred bird/pig flu virus gets in contact with a human flu virus. The virus cross breed again and become dangerous for birds, pigs and humans.
Weblinks
- The magazine sciencebase reports in a brief and understandable article about the Swine Flu
- The Obsidian Wings discuss wether the animal-to-human or the human-to-human transmission of the virus is more dangerous.
- Eric Michael Johnson is discussing in the Primate Diaries the origin of the swine flu. His concept to fend off similar threats in the future: “Fortunately, the solution is a simple one. … Supporting local food production, the closer to home the better, will help to spread our food sources away from a few enormous mega-farms and into smaller, regional farms with fewer animals at each.”
