Smuggled bush meat brings viral threat to US
A newly published study shows that "bush meat" and other wild animal products intercepted on their way into the United States often bring with them pathogens that can be deadly to humans, wildlife and livestock.
The pilot study focused on wild animals and wild animal products coming from primates, rodents and bats from Africa that were imported for human consumption and confiscated, mainly at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. What researchers found was that viruses sometimes persisted in these products even when they were smoked or otherwise prepared to make them safe for eating.
"We know from studies and outbreaks in Africa that live animals and bush meat carry a range of pathogens," said wildlife veterinarian Kristine Smith of EcoHealth Alliance, a wildlife conservation and global health nonprofit group in New York City which led the study.
Some of the viruses they found included foamy virus -- a relative of simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV (elated to HIV), and herpes, including several new strains. Bush meat like that analyzed in the study has been known to carry Ebola and monkey pox, which remain a concern even though they did not show up in the initial samples.
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http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/13/10151806-smuggled-bush-meat-brings-viral-threat-to-us
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