To the FML:
 
I had a small slip of the brain the other night and ended up with quite a
misstatement.....Jeff Johnson and others who are knowledgeable in this area
pointed them out, quite correctly.  And one of these viruses, that affects
mice, known as Mouse Hepatitis Virus, does mutate fairly frequently, and can
affect a number of organ systems - including the intestine, liver, and even
the brain.
 
>ECE, which is most likely a coronavirus, but may be one of a small group of
>related viruses, or possibly a rotavirus, is not airborne.  The
>coronaviruses are not airborne viruses, but generally extremely contagious
>viruses which are propagated through fecal-oral routes.  This is the nature
>of coronaviruses.
 
Truth be told, there are several coronaviruses out there than can be passed
through a respiratory route.  I should qualify my statements to talk about
the enteric coronaviruses, or those that only hit the intestine, which ECE
appears to be a member of.  We see these viruses in pigs (TGE), dogs, cats,
cattle, rats, and numerous other species.  They are contagious viruses that
are shed by the fecal-oral route.  I have not heard of one of these forms
mutating to infect the respiratory tract, although in nature, anything is
possble, even if not likely.  Should we worry also about this virus mutating
to infect man?  I s'pose it could happen, but likely it wouldn't.
 
I apologize for any confusion, and am grateful for the people who
contributed their knowledge of coronviruses to this discussion....
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
Dept. of Veterinary Pathology               [log in to unmask]
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1684]