Worried about the Flu? Now a common COLD VIRUS has MUTATED and KILLS

[MacMagus]

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1107/473120.html

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinv...=bondsNews&storyID=2007-11-16T004912Z_01_N15332656_RTRIDST_0_ADENOVIRUS-USA-UPDATE-2.XML

A new and virulent strain of adenovirus, which frequently causes the common cold, killed 10 people in parts of the United States earlier this year and put dozens into hospitals, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report detailed cases of people ill in May of 2006 and from March to June of 2007 with a strain of the virus called adenovirus 14 in New York, Oregon, Washington state and Texas.

"Whether you're a healthy young adult, an infant or an elderly person, this virus can cause severe respiratory disease at any age," said John Su, who investigates infectious diseases for the CDC and contributed to the report.

"What makes this particular adenovirus a little different is that it has the capability of making healthy young adults severely ill. And that's unusual for an adenovirus, and that's why it's got our attention," Su said in a telephine nterview.

BTW: There is no evidence that this mutant strain is in the general population of the United States right now.

But that didn't stop my local tv station from blasting promos for the 10pm news with the tagline: "Have you got the sniffles? What you need to know about the new killer cold" and then focusing the story on the lack of immunizations available.

I apologize to any of you who were scared by the subject-line.

[PeterB]

Hmmmm... something for me to discuss in my next class session... just got through talking with them about retroviruses...

[AlphaDog]

I don't know about other deaths, but the woman who died up here in Washington also had AIDS. Although it said this particular virus made people sicker than the "common" cold, I wondered whether the people who died in other states also had severely compromised immune systems. I do wish they'd give a little more information when they publicize stuff like this.

[OWC Jamie]

Fight back with Nyquil bombs.

[PeterB]

AD, I just Googled on it a bit, and I don't know that it's necessarily people who are immunocompromised. One of the victims was a 19 year old trainee at an Air Force base... it seems that the adeno's are pretty common on military bases, where they're known as the "boot camp flu":

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5645a1.htm

... I didn't see much though describing what the differences are between Ad14 (this strain) and other strains.

[mattkime]

I might mutate and kill a tv news producer!

[Jimmypoo]

Damn those guys at Fort Deitrick!

Everytime they pile into a car to go to McDonalds, THIS HAPPENS!