Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (46148)	2/12/2004 7:11:01 PM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

The mutations are from anti-virals, not antibiotics and there are many avian flu sequences at GenBank. but only one has the two mutations that accounted for 16/18 resistant isolates at study at a Canadian nursing home. discuss.agonist.org It's human and it's China.

To: RealMuLan who wrote (46148)	2/12/2004 7:37:21 PM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 74559

I'll be a bit more specific. Antibiotics are for bacteria and can be made cheaply and be protective against a broad spectrum of bacteria. They do not affect viruses however. For viruses, in China vaccination is used although it is not at all clear that such a vaccine is any longer affective against the current version of bird flu circulating throughout Asia. This version has been heavily mutated to escape the affects of vaccines and the virus is quite widespread. Thus, far there has only been a partial sequence published on the isolate from Vietnam. However, a full sequence has been published on a virus isolated from ducks smuggled onto Quemoy Island from Fujian Province in Dec 2003. This virus is easily the closest match to the virus from the fatal case in Vietnam. There are anti-virals available for humans. These drugs are too expensive for animals and some would say they are too expensive for humans. In any event, two of the older drugs target a specific protein encoded by the influenza virus. However, one problem with the drug is the ability of the virus to quickly mutate and become resistant to the drug (in humans). A study at a Canadian nursing home isolated and sequenced virus from patients who had developed resistance. It was found that of the 18 isolates, 9 mutated at one position, and 7 mutated at another. Thus, two mutations accounted for 16/18 resistant cases. The isolate from Vietnam has both positions mutated and it is the only isolate at GenBank with both mutations. The closely related virus from Quemoy does not have either position mutated. Thus, the Quemoy isolate is a marker for the kinds of mutations found in virus circulating in China in general and the isolate from Vietnam (and it sounds like all 5 sequenced isolates) have in addition to the mutations found in the China duck, the same two mutations found in human isoaltes resistant to the anti-virals, which almost certainly came from humans being treated with the anti-virals. It's human and it's China.