A mysterious illness reported in late March gradually spreading through China has been reportedly causing sufferers to experience symptoms similar to the widely contagious and often feared illness AIDS. Only this latest illness is said to be spread through other means such as sweat and saliva and does not appear on any known tests. What is this mystery illness? Is it real or just an unverified rumor? And will it be the next major health epidemic to face the world?
According to the site Epoch Times, the virus has been reported in the New Express Daily - a news site from China. The virus is said to be passed by contact with sweat, blood transfusions, and other means previously thought relatively safe. While scientists still have not confirmed that the illness exists or is anywhere near as dramatic as some media are reporting, it's difficult to imagine the fear such an illness would spread. Understandable then why news sources in China may be apprehensive to allow the printing of such material where media is so tightly controlled even in 2011.
The illness, though not readily identifiable, is spreading at an unknown rate through contact with bodily fluids. Rumors are even persisting that even casual contact could bring about symptoms. Of the 30 cases the Express Daily reportedly contacted regarding the illness, several reported having tested negatively for HIV and AIDS. So where is it coming from? And how big could it get?
Of course the source of the story is translated, and it might be a good time to bring up the disturbing story that an entire village full of people had been picked up in the night and disappeared after a flash of light hovered over the city. The story, which eventually went viral after appearing in Newspapers in the wake of the New York UFO wave that month eventually was sourced to a single news article that had been mistranslated from China. Similar incidents have happened in the past and will happen in the future. But is this one of them?
The story of patients testing negative for HIV but still showing symptoms seems to be more than just a rumor as more sites begin reporting on it. But without a clear virus identified, there are still many questions unanswered. And so as the story comes up during AIDS education month in China, this is an element that cannot be forgotten.
But what if it were confirmed? A disease such as this could profoundly affect every aspect of the globe. Human contact is an incredibly important element in human existence. When babies do not receive enough human contact in their early stages of life they begin to die. And if we were to suddenly find ourselves in a world where even shaking hands were considered dangerous, what impact might it have on our culture? We'll keep an eye out for future developments on this developing story for confirmation.
