Malaysia Grapples For Answers On New Virus 6.41 a.m. ET (1142 GMT) March 29, 1999

KUALA LUMPUR  Malaysia struggled Monday to determine the origin of a newly detected virus which, along with another discovered six months ago, has killed 63 people in the central pig-breeding region.

Health authorities said they knew little about the new virus except that it was similar to the Hendra virus, a member of the Paramyxo family, which caused the deaths of two people and 15 horses in Australia in 1994-95.

The new virus causes similar symptoms to the Japanese encephalitis virus, which was first detected in Malaysia in October and was also harbored in pigs, officials said.

Japanese encephalitis is transmitted by mosquitoes and is marked by high fever, headaches, dizziness, convulsions and loss of consciousness leading to death if untreated.

But the new virus is different in that it was believed to be spread by direct contact. It can, however, be killed by soap, detergent and disinfectant.

Authorities said they had no idea where the new strain came from or how to wipe it out.

"We are looking for certain answers,'' Health Minister Chua Jui Meng told reporters. "The questions include where did this virus originate, what is the route of transmission, does it affect only pigs or other animals like birds and flying foxes?''

"We hope to be able to get these questions answered as soon as possible so that we can do more control work.''

The discovery of the new strain 10 days ago has complicated efforts to battle the viral epidemic which has prompted a health scare in two central regions.

Authorities initially blamed the deaths on Japanese encephalitis, which is endemic in Malaysia and many other Asian countries.

In an effort to contain the outbreak, authorities have 139,000 pigs so far out of a target of one million.

Other efforts have focused on vaccinating residents and pigs against encephalitis, and spraying the two regions where the outbreaks occurred to kill Culex mosquitoes, which transmit encephalitis from pigs to humans.

But the presence of the Hendra-like virus required a fresh strategy as it is believed to be transmitted by direct contact with live, sick pigs.

Fewer than one third of the 63 deaths have been confirmed as encephalitis cases and authorities have blamed the new virus for at least some of the deaths.

Chua said the best weapon against the virus so far seemed to be found in simple cleansing solutions. "The evidence is very clear that the virus can be destroyed by disinfectants, detergents and soap.''

A team of eight experts from Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprising skin doctors, clinical analysts, lab researchers and veterinarians, was now in Malaysia. They are working with experts from Australia and Taiwan to help find ways to fight the epidemic.

The U.S. experts brought sophisticated equipment and have set up a makeshift laboratory at a government hospital to study the new virus, Chua said.

"We're going to try to detect it using our analyzer, which detects the antibodies in a victim,'' Patrick Stockton, a microbiologist in the U.S. team, told Reuters.

Chua said authorities hoped the Ribavirin drug used for encephalitis victims would be as effective in battling the new virus.

The minister urged those with symptoms of high fever and dizziness to get vaccinated at once. The government has prepared to jab 250,000 people but only about 65,000 had come forward until Friday.

The Health Ministry issued a list of precautionary measures to those working in the pig-breeding industry, asking them to be covered head to toe and to use soap liberally.

The Health Ministry released a statement Monday spelling out precautionary measures for the nation's estimated 300,000 pig farmers as well as thousands of farm helpers, truck drivers and slaughterhouse workers. It advised the use of eye goggles, face masks and plastic gloves.

Got LOTS of soap???

-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), March 29, 1999

Answers

thanks for virus update. we have swine flu, now swine encephalitis spread directly, huh? lovely.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), March 29, 1999.