Animal Viruses

[malvolio]

Human and pig physiology are very similar, unlike cows and sheep, so transmission of disease is a higher risk. One reason you don't eat rare pork and why a lot of religions ban it completely. Equally why ex-pig transplantation is simpler and (usually...) safer.

[SueEllen]

Not a good idea then to transfer organs from another species then. Are you at risk of catching it if you do a Cameron?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...eath-pig-virus

The 57-year-old patient who survived two months after undergoing a landmark pig heart transplant died of a pig virus, his transplant surgeon announced last month.

In January, David Bennett, a handyman who suffered from heart failure, underwent a highly experimental surgery at the University of Maryland medical center in which doctors transplanted a genetically modified pig’s heart into him.

Shortly after undergoing the surgery, Bennett died in March. The hospital simply said his condition had worsened over the span of a few days but did not provide an exact cause of death.

Last month, Bennett’s transplant surgeon, Bartley Griffith, revealed that the pig’s heart was infected with a porcine virus known as porcine cytomegalovirus, which may have contributed to Bennett’s death. In a webinar hosted by the American Society of Transplantation on 20 April, Griffith described the virus and doctors’ attempts to treat it, MIT Technology Review first reported on Wednesday.