Quote:
Originally Posted by MandoMan
Just as the U.S. and other countries spends a lot of money identifying the strains of the flu most likely to make people sick here in the next few months so this year’s flu vaccine can be made, so they also pay for studies of possible strains of other or similar organisms that might be a problem. Such as the Ebola virus. Forewarned is forearmed. That research can’t be done without gathering the animals and running the tests. One hope is that if there is ever a breakout of some new disease in humans, or chickens, or whatever, the organism will have already been identified, which helps virologists. That research is best done in countries where the animals live. It’s hard to gather hundreds of bats in China and bring them here for testing, and it is also much more expensive than working with a lab in China. So mostly this is about building a database and keeping samples in the freezers. This also involves constantly searching for mutations that might be dangerous and trying to anticipate what mutations might be forthcoming.
Here is a paragraph from the New York Post article you link to that is from the NIH clarifying what must happen if a deadlier variant is found:
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I believe that I read that here in the US, some cats, dogs, and even a tiger in a zoo (I think San Diego) have DEVELOPED CV. So, if it can cross species lines from human to lower mammals - it IS likely that it could go from lower species to human.