Super Viruses

The virus is an environmental weapon of mass destruction, but how do these infections spring? The virus and animals are more linked than you would expect. Could these amazing beasts be responsible for outbreaks such as AIDs?

This TED talk left me thinking about how strong we are as humans. It made me realize that protecting the environment is also protecting ourselves. Nathan Wolfe is going to inspire people to make a change in their lives. I recommend this to anybody who has just ten minutes of time on their plate, it will not disappoint.

http://www.ted.com/talks/nathan_wolfe_hunts_for_the_next_aids#

I had the chance to watch a TED talk from Nathan Wolfe an American virus hunter who has been stationed in Africa for 10 years. Mr. Wolfe’s main mission has been to learn about new viruses and how they have been transferred into humans. Wolfe showed a picture of a African man holding some kind of monkey corpse over his shoulder and pointed out all the blood that this man was in contact with. We have known for a while that animals are usually the start of the viruses that take the lives of hundreds of thousands of humans each year, but never were sure how they would be transferred until Wolfes research. If we can learn to prevent these transmissions then we will be able to live as a more healthy race.

http://img.tedcdn.com/r/images.ted.com/images/ted/80325_800x600.jpg?ll=1&quality=89&w=800

Hunting is essential to Africa and in this unadvanced culture they do not have as much equipment as countries like the US and England have. In order to stay disease free it is necessary for certain protocols such as washing yourself, your clothes, and even the weapon that you use. People in Africa do not look at this as a priority, their priority is putting food on the table, leaving them vulnerable to up and coming diseases. If the human race is taken down by a deadly virus, it will most likely have come from an animal. Due to this we must be incredibly careful with the way we go about hunting, logging, or even hiking because we could trigger an 
epidemic.
Discussion question: Are the start to viruses like AID's humans or animals fault?

FUTURE RESEARCH: How can animals be used for scientific research and possibly discover cures?