Chimps are dying of the common cold. Is great ape tourism to blame?
Chimps are dying of the common cold. Is great ape tourism to blame?
Viruses that cause mild sniffles in humans are devastating populations of chimpanzees and gorillas. In some ape communities, it’s a bigger killer than habitat loss or poaching
Viruses that cause mild sniffles in humans are devastating populations of chimpanzees and gorillas. In some ape communities, it’s a bigger killer than habitat loss or poaching
There was something wrong with the chimpanzees. For weeks, a community of 205 animals in Uganda’s Kibale national park had been coughing, sneezing and looking generally miserable. But no one could say for sure what ailed them, even as the animals began to die.
Necropsies can help to identify a cause of death, but normally, the bodies of chimps are found long after decomposition has set in, if at all. So when Tony Goldberg, a US wildlife epidemiologist visiting Kibale, got word that an adult female named Stella had been found freshly dead, he knew this was a rare opportunity to look for an answer.
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The common cold is a coronavirus. So...?
Common cold is a rhinovirus, not a coronavirus.
"The common cold" is a name we've given to hundreds of different viruses where the common denominator is "less severe than the flu".
"Well over 200 virus strains are implicated in causing the common cold, with rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, adenoviruses and enteroviruses " - Wikipedia
Yes, and viral spread can be significantly hampered by wearing a mask. If tourists wore them these gorillas and chimps wouldn’t contract the viruses, and wouldn’t die. Of course the same is true for humans. We made two Yamagata strains of influenza go extinct by behavioral change. Working together we can accomplish so much.
So when did that change?
Rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause of the common cold. In the United States, children have an average of two rhinovirus infections each year, and adults have an average of one. Most rhinovirus infections are mild, but they can cause severe illness, especially in people with weakened immune systems, asthma, or other underlying medical conditions. Rhinoviruses are commonly detected in children hospitalized for respiratory illness.
Unlike the four strains of coronavirus behind about 20% of the cases of common cold, COVID-19 virus can cause severe illness, and even death.
Okay? Does that change the fact that rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause of the common cold?
Because that says 20% are caused by coronaviruses.
Jesus dude, Im trying so hard not to block you, cause you occasionally post some decent content. But every time you're contradicted you just go off. You're the one who said the common cold is not a coronavirus, and you're wrong. Just stop.
Yes, and someone else already showed me that I was incorrect on that, so I pasted something which was more accurate but still showed I was in the right ballpark.
I'm not sure why you're taking it so personally.
Edit: Also, if you want to block me, go ahead. I don't have some sort of special entitlement where anyone is forced to pay attention to me that isn't my daughter.