| Record |
| Author |
Munoz-Sanz, A. |
| Title |
[Christopher Columbus flu. A hypothesis for an ecological catastrophe] |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiologia Clinica |
Abbreviated Journal |
Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin |
| Volume |
24 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
326-334 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Atlantic Islands; Birds; Chickens; Disease Outbreaks/*history; Disease Reservoirs; Disease Susceptibility; Ecology; Europe/ethnology; History, 15th Century; Horses; Humans; Indians, South American; Influenza A virus/classification/genetics/pathogenicity; Influenza in Birds/epidemiology/history/transmission/virology; Influenza, Human/epidemiology/*history/mortality/transmission; Models, Biological; Orthomyxoviridae Infections/epidemiology/history/veterinary/virology; Poultry Diseases/epidemiology/history/transmission/virology; Reassortant Viruses/genetics/pathogenicity; Species Specificity; Sus scrofa; Swine Diseases/history/transmission/virology; Terminology; West Indies/epidemiology |
| Abstract |
When Christopher Columbus and his men embarked on the second Colombian expedition to the New World (1493), the crew suffered from fever, respiratory symptoms and malaise. It is generally accepted that the disease was influenza. Pigs, horses and hens acquired in Gomera (Canary Islands) traveled in the same ship. The pigs may well have been the origin of the flu and the intermediary hosts for genetic recombination of other viral subtypes. The Caribbean archipelago had a large population of birds, the natural reservoir of the avian influenza virus. In this ecological scenario there was a concurrence of several biological elements that had never before coexisted in the New World: pigs, horses, the influenza virus and humans. We propose that birds are likely to have played an important role in the epidemiology of the flu occurring on the second Colombian trip, which caused a fatal demographic catastrophe, with an estimated mortality of 90% among the natives. |
| Address |
Unidad de Patologia Infecciosa, Hospital Universitario Infanta Cristina, Servicio Extremeno de Salud, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Espana. infectio@unex.es |
| Corporate Author |
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Thesis |
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| Publisher |
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Place of Publication |
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Editor |
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| Language |
Spanish |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
La gripe de Cristobal Colon. Hipotesis sobre una catastrofe ecologica |
| Series Editor |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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| Series Volume |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0213-005X |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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| Area |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:16762260 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2624 |
| Permanent link to this record |
