A novel strain of
the deadly SARS virus that sparked a health scare this year is closely
related to a virus found in Asian bats, according to a study published
on Tuesday.
Scientists in the Netherlands said they had sequenced
the genetic code of a viral sample taken from a 60-year-old man whose
death in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in June triggered fears that Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was returning in a new guise.
The
new strain, called HCoV-EMC/2012, is part of a viral family called
coronavirus, but in a specific category called betacoronavirus.
Its
closest known cousins are a strain found in lesser bamboo bats
(Tylonycteris pachypus) and another found in Japanese house bats,
Pipistrellus abramus.
"The virus is most closely related to
viruses in bats in Asia, and there are no human viruses closely related
to it," said Ron Fouchier of the prestigious Erasmus Medical Centre in
Rotterdam.
"Therefore we speculate that it comes from an animal
source," he said, noting that Pipistrellus bats are present in Saudi
Arabia and neighbouring
countries.
An epidemic of SARS erupted in China in 2002, eventually claiming around 800 deaths in some 30 countries.
Bats
were linked with a novel strain of SARS found in 2005. Hong Kong
researchers found a natural "reservoir" of it in Chinese horseshoe bats.
Two other men have also fallen sick in the latest SARS episode.
One is a Qatari man who had been in Saudi Arabia and is being treated at a hospital in London.
There
is 99.6-99.7 per cent similarity between his strain and the virus
sequenced in the Netherlands, said Fouchier in a press release.
"They
are the same species," he said, adding that the difference was
sufficient to suggest that the men had been infected by different
sources.
The other is a Saudi man whose case was announced
earlier this month by the Saudi health ministry, which on November 4
described him as cured.
The genomic sequence of that virus is not yet available, Fouchier said.
The World Health Organization said that what set the new virus apart from SARS was that it causes rapid kidney failure.
Fears
rose last month over the potential spread of the virus during the
Muslim hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. But the kingdom's health
ministry
repeatedly reassured pilgrims that no epidemic outbreaks had been registered.
WE ARE ALL ONE FAMILY.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
A soft drink a day raises prostate cancer risk.
Men who drink one
normal-sized soft drink per day are at greater risk of getting more
aggressive forms of prostate cancer, according to a Swedish study
released Monday.
"Among the men who drank a lot of soft drinks or other drinks with added sugar, we saw an increased risk of prostate cancer of around 40 percent," said Isabel Drake, a PhD student at Lund University.
The study, to be published in the upcoming edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed over 8,000 men aged 45 to 73 for an average of 15 years.
Those who drank one 330-millilitre (11-fluid-ounce) soft drink a day were 40 percent more likely to develop more serious forms of prostate cancer that required treatment.
The cancer was discovered after the men showed symptoms of the disease, and not through the screening process known as Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).
Those who ate a diet heavy on rice and pasta increased their risk of getting milder forms of prostate cancer, which often required no treatment, by 31 percent, while a high intake of sugary breakfast cereals raised the incidence of milder forms of the cancer to 38 percent, Drake told AFP.
While further research was needed before dietary guidelines could be changed, there are already plenty of reasons a person should cut back on soft-drink consumption, she noted.
The men in the study had to undergo regular medical examinations and kept a journal of their food and drink intake.
Previous studies have shown that Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the US develop prostate cancer more often than peers in their home countries.
Further research on how genes respond to different diets would make it possible to "tailor food and drink guidelines for certain high-risk groups," Drake said.
"Among the men who drank a lot of soft drinks or other drinks with added sugar, we saw an increased risk of prostate cancer of around 40 percent," said Isabel Drake, a PhD student at Lund University.
The study, to be published in the upcoming edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed over 8,000 men aged 45 to 73 for an average of 15 years.
Those who drank one 330-millilitre (11-fluid-ounce) soft drink a day were 40 percent more likely to develop more serious forms of prostate cancer that required treatment.
The cancer was discovered after the men showed symptoms of the disease, and not through the screening process known as Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).
Those who ate a diet heavy on rice and pasta increased their risk of getting milder forms of prostate cancer, which often required no treatment, by 31 percent, while a high intake of sugary breakfast cereals raised the incidence of milder forms of the cancer to 38 percent, Drake told AFP.
While further research was needed before dietary guidelines could be changed, there are already plenty of reasons a person should cut back on soft-drink consumption, she noted.
The men in the study had to undergo regular medical examinations and kept a journal of their food and drink intake.
Previous studies have shown that Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the US develop prostate cancer more often than peers in their home countries.
Further research on how genes respond to different diets would make it possible to "tailor food and drink guidelines for certain high-risk groups," Drake said.
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