Comments on: Our Cousins Are Sick

By: The Chip

The Chip — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:10:15 +0000

The Chimpanzees, are your Cousins not my

[CZ: Wow. My first comment from a non-human. ;- ) ]

By: mental_floss Blog » Morning Cup of Links: Mock Duck

mental_floss Blog » Morning Cup of Links: Mock Duck — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:18:19 +0000

[...] are only around 1,000 Bonobos left in the world, all in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now a flu epidemic has hit their sole sanctuary. * Housing Homeless Drunks And Letting Them Drink Saves Millions. And [...]

By: Lola Ya Bonobo » Flu Press Coverage

Lola Ya Bonobo » Flu Press Coverage — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:46:08 +0000

[...] Carl Zimmer who ran it on his very popular Discover blog, The Loom [...]

By: An Accidental Beneficiary of Warfare: Wildlife - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com

An Accidental Beneficiary of Warfare: Wildlife - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:55:58 +0000

[...] 4/5: Carl Zimmer passes along news about a deadly virus spreading through bonobos. Anyone know [...]

By: Bonobo Outbreak: Update from Democratic Republic of Congo | The Loom | Discover Magazine

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:58:13 +0000

[...] I passed on some grim news about a virus sweeping through bonobos. Some readers had questions, such as whether there was a [...]

By: Reference « Pandemic Influenza Information

Reference « Pandemic Influenza Information — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 06:09:46 +0000

[...] a pandemic Alert. H5N1 is a multi-mammal species and can infect rodents, cats, dogs, pigs, … http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/04/02/our-cousins-are-sick/ April 3, 2009 Discover [...]

By: Our Cousins Are Sick | The Loom | Discover Magazine « Courtney’s Blog

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:01:50 +0000

[...] via Our Cousins Are Sick | The Loom | Discover Magazine. [...]

By: cr

cr — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:00:10 +0000

H5N1 has been in Africa for years – we Are in a Pandemic Alert.
H5N1 is a multi-mammal species and can infect rodents, cats, dogs, pigs, primates -”potentially any carnivore” FAO said, March, 2006.
It also can survive in water as fomites at certain temperatures.

I hope the staff is taking better precautions, and, that actual testing and diagnosis happen soon. (Poor bonobos.)

H5N1 in humans is remaining fatal unless Tamiflu is started within 48 hours of symptom onset (or sooner; for contacts of suspected/known cases) and it seems to be at least a 10-day course of Tamiflu needed; until viral shedding stops. (Indonesia does it until they rapid-test, “negative”, and then, claims they weren’t H5N1 cases. Lately, Indonesia just says they died of something else- but then use H5N1 coffin protocols- monitor neighborhood health, door-to-door for 21 days; can’t hurt tourism!)

Young healthy immune systems seem to get cytokine storm from H5N1; as with the 1918 virus.
Many index cases of human clusters up and died without ever making it to a doctor – and often get left off “official” tallies.

The so-called “Brisbane” strains of seasonal flu are also worse than the usual, even to the young and healhty, but, they mostly all have a Tamiflu-resistant gene snip, and a gene that increases chance of pneumonia.

(What is the seasonal influenza vaccine coverage of those Congolese schoolchildren, btw?)
School families in the US are not being told how to prepare in case of an H5N1 Panflu Year; I suppose things are the same or worse in the DRC.

What protection does the staff use for the bonobos in quarantine?

By: Michael D.

Michael D. — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:15:53 +0000

From the email, it is not clear if the “flu” they describe has been definitively diagnosed or established as being caused by the influenza virus. Is this the case?