Wild diet off menu as SARS bat link recalled

Winnie Chong and Mary Ann Benitez Tuesday, February 19, 2013 Stop eating wild animals. That is the call from an infectious diseases expert who recalled that the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak was linked to bats. "We should remember the lessons of history and be alert to avoid tragedies from happening again," University of Hong Kong microbiology professor Ho Pak-leung said. Twelve people, including three from the same family in Britain, have so far been confirmed with a SARS-like novel coronavirus since the new strain emerged in April in the Middle East. Five of those have died, three in Saudi Arabia and the rest in Jordan. Chair of virology at HKU's School of Public Health Malik Peiris told The Standard the new coronavirus is similar to viruses found in bats in Africa and Europe. Peiris was on the team that first gene-sequenced the SARS coronavirus when it emerged in 2003. Another animal species that could have passed the new virus to humans from bats remains elusive, Peiris said. SARS also originated from bats and passed on to civet cats before infecting humans in Guangdong sometime in late 2002. But it was not until March 11, 2003 - when an outbreak of what was then called "atypical pneumonia" affected 23 of medical staff at the Prince of Wales Hospital - that Hong Kong realized it may be facing a new emerging infection. Ho said: "Eating wild animals will indirectly help the virus transmit to humans." Adding that it has become common over the past two decades for viruses to be passed on from animals to humans, as bird flu and SARS were, Ho called for extra emphasis on personal hygiene by one and all. The SARS epidemic killed 299 people in the territory, among 774 worldwide. One of the survivors, a woman named Ng, said she has been reluctant to go back to her old home at Amoy Gardens, Ngau Tau Kok. The estate was quarantined after at least 300 residents were infected and that is where she contracted the deadly disease. Even after being released from hospital, Ng suffered breathing difficulties, bone degeneration and muscular atrophy and cut herself off from all social life for three year. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=131180&sid=39007074&con_type=1&d_str=20130219&fc=1