News extracted from THE PERIODICO.COM 30/10/2009 15:07 h NEW DISEASE
• The pathogen is present in the 27 species on the peninsula
A virus whose genetic sequence is quite homologous to the Ebola virus, which until now was restricted to certain African countries, have been found among the 27 species of bats live in caves of Spanish territory. The researcher of the Institute of Health Carlos III de Madrid, Ana Isabel Negredo, today moved the “important discovery” during the closing conference of the Third International Course on Emerging Zoonoses and Pathogens of Public Health Importance. The increased mortality among some populations of bats in the Iberian Peninsula took a team of researchers from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III to study possible causes, taking into account that, in 2005, Africa had appeared in the first case of virus Ebola that is living in a bat.
“Bats in Africa and the bats that live in Spain are very different,” said Ana Negredo, adding that for this reason, the team of researchers began to genetically sequence the virus found in bats in northern Iberian Peninsula ” was a great surprise to discover African Ebola-like compounds. The sequencing of the gene for this new virus is not yet complete, since to do so, you need an insulation that currently can not be performed in any laboratory in Spain. For this reason, it is negotiating with the Pasteur Institute, with appropriate facilities. “At present, our suspicion is that there is a pathogenic virus,” said the specialist. The Ebola virus, discovered in Africa in 1976, is one of the most aggressive known today, as it can kill a person within a few days for hemorrhagic fevers. On the African continent, has destroyed whole tribes. Original at FEDESPELEO.COM