31–40 of 68 posts
The guy who introduced them to the area put them on an island in the middle of Silver River, and they swam away the first day.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is no herpes vaccine. It's hard to develop one, due to the way the virus evades the immune system.
There are a few promising technologies in the works though. The helicase-primase inhibitor Pritelivir is more effective than Acyclovir and related nucleoside analogues. It is also understood that the efficacy of both drugs accumulates. A few labs are working on CRISPR therapeutics for HSV, most notably Keith Jerome's work at Fred Hutch. Another company, Phylogica, are taking a different approach. I'm not exactly sure…
It's not life altering in any way besides the fact that HSV2 has such a strong stigma in the US and tends to turn away a non insignificant number of romantic partners. From a health perspective, I had a rash once in my life and basically entirely forgot about even having it (outside of taking 800mg of Acyclovir every day), but from a social perspective, it adds a 50-70% chance that someone will turn you down. Dating is non-trivial already, adding another 2/3 dropoff to your dating life is no joke. On the plus side, it was nice to see a show like Adam Ruins Everything cover the issue to try to dispel some of the stigma, but I suspect that it will not be addressed within my lifetime.
Additionally, in the state of California it's a well known way to shake down people of wealth. I always disclose my status before getting intimate, as required by law, but I also need to make sure that I have your consent somewhere in writing. Otherwise later you can claim that you were never told, you got the virus, and it's my fault, and now you're entitled to restitutions for the stress and damages to your lifestyle. It becomes a he said vs she said and practically a coin toss that decides if you are to part ways with anything between $100k to a few million. You always think "Is this person going to be the one who decides to use me to make a buck?". My legal counsel always advises that a new partner send me an email consenting to the risks she would be exposing herself to by engaging in intercourse.
If that's not romance at its finest, I don't know what is.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
IMO this is the most pragmatic solution. Why keep around an invasive species that carries a deadly virus?
Because the solution is typically implemented with a bounty program which is known to result in the intentional release of more of the invasive species to collect more rewards.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
IMO this is the most pragmatic solution. Why keep around an invasive species that carries a deadly virus?
Because the solution is typically implemented with a bounty program which is known to result in the intentional release of more of the invasive species to collect more rewards.
Place a nominal bounty on the monkeys of, say, $50 each and threaten anyone attempting to breed and release the animals for profit with a lifetime jail sentence and the Cobra Effect would not arise.
Non-blogspam source: https://www.wftv.com/news/local/wild-monkeys-with-herpes-in-...
Do you work for that station? Your source has two ads and a request to send notifications before the fold.
[1] In a new study, researchers found that the voracious appetite of the Burmese python can outpace even the reproductive speed of the marsh rabbit, a small brown bunny that seems to have disappeared from the Everglades National Park. -- https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-invasiv...
I'm actually from that area and recently been back to take the glass bottom boat tour. The monkey's are pretty illusive and usually stay away from humans and live in the Silver Springs state park, which is next to the Ocala national forest (second largest nationally protected forest in the US). I remember the guide telling us only a few people have died from contact. In those cases were reseacher/scientist that had b…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are a few promising technologies in the works though. The helicase-primase inhibitor Pritelivir is more effective than Acyclovir and related nucleoside analogues. It is also understood that the efficacy of both drugs accumulates. A few labs are working on CRISPR therapeutics for HSV, most notably Keith Jerome's work at Fred Hutch. Another company, Phylogica, are taking a different approach. I'm not exactly sure…
I'd pay a pretty penny for a cure, or total suppression of transmission. It's not life altering in any way besides the fact that HSV2 has such a strong stigma in the US and tends to turn away a non insignificant number of romantic partners. From a health perspective, I had a rash once in my life and basically entirely forgot about even having it (outside of taking 800mg of Acyclovir every day), but from a social pers…
I've had elderly relatives down with shingles, caused by the herpes virus, for months. Their shingles being a very latent reappearance of Chickenpox acquired in childhood. These viruses are opportunistic, and you will grow weaker in time, if you don't die first.
The stigma, in this case, is appropriate in my opinion.
It surprises me how cavalier everyone has been about HPV and Chickenpox throughout my lifetime. At least we've finally appreciated how HPV causes most cervical cancers and have developed routine immunization there. We badly need to develop Herpes vaccines. I'm confident once we have them, it will conveniently become "discovered" that HSV has been quietly responsible for some prolific form of suffering like Alzheimers and/or Parkinsons all this time.