A New “Heartland” Virus Discovered In Two Sick Missouri Farmers
When two farmers in Missouri were admitted to hospitals, in 2009, after they experienced high fevers, fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite that doctors first believed was caused by a bacterial infection but that diagnosis was reconsidered when the men didn’t recover after being treated with antibotics.
When further blood tests were conducted both men were discovered to be carrying a new virus that researchers have now started calling the Heartland virus. The virus apparently belongs to a group called phleboviruses which are carried by flies, mosquitoes, or ticks and it was only recognized as a ‘new’ virus when researchers found that the particular proteins it produces are different enough from other phleboviruses that it warrants calling it a new species.
Scientists at the CDC say that because the Heartland virus causes such general symptoms it could be “a lot more common cause of human illness than is currently recognized.”
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Steven Hodson Steven has been around the tech world long enough to see most of the stuff we think of cool happen before which leads to a certain bit of cynicism that has contributed to him being known as the cranky old fart of the Internet. Besides sharing some of the goodness that he finds with you here at 42x you can also find him curating some digital goodness at Winextra (tech type stuff) and Rotten Gumdrops (for your daily dose of WTF).
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