Pepper The Cat Finds New Strain Of Orthoreovirus

A Florida cat named Pepper has made another amazing discovery.

John Lednicky, a Microbiologist at the University of Florida is Pepper's owner and so far his furry friend has made two important discoveries.

In a new study, scientists have once again discovered an exotic virus infecting a dead rodent that had been caught by Pepper. This time around, Pepper’s furry hunting trophy helped researchers pinpoint an unidentified strain of orthoreovirus, a type of virus that infects humans and other mammals. The findings, and the virus’s complete genome, are published in the journal Microbiology Letters.
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It was Lednicky who brought Pepper’s fresh catch into the lab for testing.

His analysis revealed that the rodent, an Everglades short-tailed shew, carried a previously unidentified strain of orthoreovirus. These types of viruses can infect humans and other mammals, but scientists still don’t know much about their effects in humans. There have been a few rare cases of encephalitis, meningitis, and gastroenteritis linked to the virus in children, however. The new viral strain is officially known as “Gainesville shrew mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 strain UF-1.”

That is amazing.

I miss my cat, Jax who passed away last July.

Open thread.

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