Could pigs be involved in Congo's new Ebola outbreak?
From A Report in Science Magazine by Jon Cohen and Kai Kupferschmidt
"It might all just be a big coincidence. But scientists and public health officials are investigating whether pigs are somehow involved in the Ebola outbreak now underway in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). If so, it would add a new—but not totally unexpected—chapter to the virus's turbulent history.
Scientists' interest stems from two data points. An epidemiological investigation has indicated that the first person to fall sick was a hunter who had come into contact with a wild boar carcass. And 84 pigs have recently died in eight villages in Nambwa, the epicenter of the current outbreak, according to a report issued yesterday by the DRC's Ministry of Health. A protocol for investigation of unusual deaths reported in pigs is under development,” according to the report."From A Report in Science Magazine by Jon Cohen and Kai Kupferschmidt
