WHO queries culling of civet cats
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《英国医生杂志》
As a third suspected case of SARS emerged in Guangdong province, southern China, officials from the World Health Organization have queried the decision to cull civet cats, considered a delicacy in the province.
Genetic sequencing of samples from the first SARS case of 2004, a Chinese journalist, indicates that the virus that infected the man is similar to that carried by civet cats. The local government ordered a mass slaughter of the wild animal as a result.
Various methods, including drowning in disinfectant and clubbing, are being used to cull an estimated 10 000 civet cats. But the link between the SARS coronavirus in civet cats and the infection in people has not been conclusively established, and the World Health Organization has expressed serious concerns about the cull.
"We are concerned for the safety of those doing the cull, because if civets do carry SARS they will come into contact with frightened animals excreting the virus," said Dr Julie Hall, WHO抯 communicable diseases surveillance and response coordinator for China. There were also environmental concerns, because SARS can survive outside the body for up to three days in laboratory conditions, she added.
The cull may also squander the opportunity for extensive sampling from civets and may lead to a false sense of security, she said. The evidence is mounting that the virus in civets is the same as the virus that infects humans, but research on this and which other animals might harbour the virus is incomplete. "For all we know they could be an intermediary carrier," said Dr Hall.
The Guangzhou government has also ordered the mass extermination of rats, cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes, although there has been no conclusive evidence that rats are involved in the spread of SARS, said Dr Hall.
So far it seems that the one confirmed and two suspected cases are unrelated. As yet this year no evidence has been shown of transmission between people, and none of the infections has been traced to its source. A team of WHO experts went to Guangzhou on 8 January to investigate the cases, but a lack of information from the authorities has hampered their progress.
"We had a very good flow of information and timely reporting of the first case, but we have had no contact from the Ministry of Health regarding the second case," said Dr Hall.
Guangdong province is where the 2003 outbreak that infected more than 8000 people and killed 774 originated.(Hong Kong Jane Parry)
Genetic sequencing of samples from the first SARS case of 2004, a Chinese journalist, indicates that the virus that infected the man is similar to that carried by civet cats. The local government ordered a mass slaughter of the wild animal as a result.
Various methods, including drowning in disinfectant and clubbing, are being used to cull an estimated 10 000 civet cats. But the link between the SARS coronavirus in civet cats and the infection in people has not been conclusively established, and the World Health Organization has expressed serious concerns about the cull.
"We are concerned for the safety of those doing the cull, because if civets do carry SARS they will come into contact with frightened animals excreting the virus," said Dr Julie Hall, WHO抯 communicable diseases surveillance and response coordinator for China. There were also environmental concerns, because SARS can survive outside the body for up to three days in laboratory conditions, she added.
The cull may also squander the opportunity for extensive sampling from civets and may lead to a false sense of security, she said. The evidence is mounting that the virus in civets is the same as the virus that infects humans, but research on this and which other animals might harbour the virus is incomplete. "For all we know they could be an intermediary carrier," said Dr Hall.
The Guangzhou government has also ordered the mass extermination of rats, cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes, although there has been no conclusive evidence that rats are involved in the spread of SARS, said Dr Hall.
So far it seems that the one confirmed and two suspected cases are unrelated. As yet this year no evidence has been shown of transmission between people, and none of the infections has been traced to its source. A team of WHO experts went to Guangzhou on 8 January to investigate the cases, but a lack of information from the authorities has hampered their progress.
"We had a very good flow of information and timely reporting of the first case, but we have had no contact from the Ministry of Health regarding the second case," said Dr Hall.
Guangdong province is where the 2003 outbreak that infected more than 8000 people and killed 774 originated.(Hong Kong Jane Parry)