(Borganic.org) One reason the emergence of H1N1, also called swine flu, has caused so much concern -- and near hysteria in some cases -- is the memory of the painful and often fatal outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) back in 2003. Over several months, this devastating viral respiratory illness, caused by a coronavirus, spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Before the disease was contained, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 8,098 people had become sick from SARS and 774 died. Although public health measures finally controlled that global outbreak, there has been no effective way to prevent or treat the breath-robbing malady should a SARS pandemic erupt -- until now. A new study shows a protein from red algae may have the ability to successfully treat SARS infections.
The research, just presented at the American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference in San Diego, demonstrated that mice treated with the protein, dubbed Griffithsin (GRFT), had a 100 percent survival rate after exposure to the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). However, only 30 percent of mice exposed to the disease but not treated with the algae substance survived.
Read full article here Algae Protein Could Stop Deadly SARS
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