Coincidence or not? You decide

[fisher]

One month ago I came down with a mysterious virus that visciously attacked my internal organs and nearly killed me. I have been through some serious illnesses in my day, but nothing was as bad as this bug. After numerous tests the doctors have determined that is was most likely a Hantavirus, but my symptoms did not match the North American strain, however they are a perfect match for the Asian strain which is also known as hemorrhagic fever. The Doctors repeated asked me if I had recently traveled to Asia, but I had not, but my new wick tanks were made there. The virus is contracted by breathing in air that is contaminated by rodent feces and urine and is rarely spread person to person. Is it a coincidence that I came down with this bug four days after breaking in a new tank and it is a virus endemic to Asia and parts of Russia.
You can decide for yourself, but I think that it might be agood idea to figure out a standard procedure for sanitizing new vaping devices manufactured in Asian. The parts could have become contaminated at any phase of the manufacturing, packing or shipping process.
Fortunately with medical and I.V. support I did not experience the final phases of this illness which gives it its name or I might not be writing you about it.

 

[Moueix]

Note to self. Wash new equipment in 190 proof.

 

[just one day]

Will everclear kill everything ? I know it nearly killed me in college

 

[Kwitter]

Everclear... as good an idea as any, I'd think!

OP: Good heavens! Glad you're okay & thanks for sharing. I would've never thought that could happen, but with our "global" economy, I guess I should start thinking of things like that.

 

[fisher]

If the everclear won't kill you then this virus will.

Seriously, I cleaned the tanks and soaked the wicks in everclear first. I think Isopropol alchohol might do a better job of sanitizing things, but I am not sure on that. Maybe someone with medical experience can chime in.

I hope none of you ever experience what I went through.

 

[just one day]

I am glad your feeling better and doing OK , Thanks for the heads up.

 

[erictho]

it seriously seems really strange that a virus typically from rat feces or urine would survive storage and transportation in your hardware. the high mobility of people really does allow for illnesses to be spread, no matter how flukey they are. it would have been good to know if this virus was spread person to person via exhalation. a virus needs a host, and if present in waste matter, you would expect to notice something like that. it would also be nice to know how long a virus could survive like that without a host. viruses don't have their own metabolism, so they need to borrow.
for my level of education, i focused quite a bit on infectious disease and paleopathologies. a viral infection of that sort strikes me as extraordinary.

 

[glassmanoak]

it seriously seems really strange that a virus typically from rat feces or urine would survive storage and transportation in your hardware. the high mobility of people really does allow for illnesses to be spread, no matter how flukey they are. it would have been good to know if this virus was spread person to person via exhalation. a virus needs a host, and if present in waste matter, you would expect to notice something like that. it would also be nice to know how long a virus could survive like that without a host. viruses don't have their own metabolism, so they need to borrow.
for my level of education, i focused quite a bit on infectious disease and paleopathologies. a viral infection of that sort strikes me as extraordinary.

Viruses can't lie dormant in their crystaline state?

 

[erictho]

i'm not sure. in the research i have done i haven't read of any viruses lying dormant, and under which conditions they will or will not lay dormant. i really feel the op should ask his doctor who provided the diagnosis more information on how this virus behaves. if it is a legitimate concern then abstaining from the hardware would probably be the best idea.

 

[Sandiej02]

Wow. So glad you're okay Fisher!!

I did just read that no one is certain how long the virus can survive "for sure" ... but they are certain it can survive at least a few days. My question is ... how do you know which tanks/supplies are manufactured in Asia?

Also, this could happen in any environment. Yosemite just had an outbreak that killed some visitors - so it isn't just limited to Asia. That's a scary thought, huh?

PS What is Everclear?

 

[fisher]

I am not from a medical background, but I am a biologist and I know that some viruses can be extremely tough and durable because they are so primative. Some can even survive boiling water and they don't need a food source to survive. They are nothing more than a sophisticated protein coat with some RNA inside of them and all they are to do is come in contact with a living cell that is to their liking. When they do they inject their RNA and start reproducing.
Rodents constantly pee and all you need is a drop of mouse urine on your components and when they are assembled it is like the unknowing manufacturer gift wraps it for you.

Take some dried mouse pee mix it with some smoke juice, let it set overnight, heat it up and vaporize it and you have a something like a weaponized Hantavirus delivery system.

 

[notdurrr]

It is very extraordinary indeed. I only study recombinetics as a hobby but I am gob smacked to here that doctors have diagnosed (or at least left the patient to feel he was diagnosed) with Hanta from nothing more than symptoms. The virus is/was on the germ warfare list, and has a mortality rate over 40%. The virsus is very well known and very well studied, any doctor who suspects Hanta MUST send samples to the cowboys for an ID straight away. They can not just say "well this fits, lets tick this box and send him home". The proceedures regarding this virus and others like it are important and must be kept to, there are plans that must be followed, for example the mass extermination of most small mammals in the infected area. This is not the sort of virus a doctor should be allowing to pass with just a "this fits" attitude.

On a side note, apart from the recent north american cases I have not heard of any other outbreaks anywhere in the world.

Lets hope the doctors somehow got this one wrong.

PS,, just for the record and to clear up the confusion ect....

Hantavirus can survive upto 3 days without a host, but that would be in perfect conditions.

 

[gimmieshelter31]

Coincidence or not , I'm glad that you survived to share your story , Fisher. BTW, where did you catch that trout?(Assuming that is you in your avatar)

 

[erictho]

ya i highly doubt hardware manufactured in china could get here in 3 days. especially if it is an infection with a non-native strain (notwithstanding the legal protocol), it sounds like your case could have been handled differently. glad you made it, fisher!

 

[Koman]

Pretty interesting story, Fisher.

 

[wonderland]

according to the CDC, the ultraviolet rays in sunlight kill hantavirus.


Sent from down a rabbit hole using Tapatalk.

 

[fisher]

I guess I need an ultrviolet lamp.

That is the doctor's educated best guess at this point, but they were so alarmed that they did send samples to the CDC and they have not given me a definite diagnosis. They just said the they way the illness presented itself it looked like the Asian strain of the hantavirus.

When and if I will get the final test results I don't know at this point. My Internist is somewhat surprised that the hospital would not send him the final test results by fax or email. He said that the next time he goes to the hospital he will pick them up himself.

Virus survival depends on environmental conditions and the strain of the virus.

If I get a conclusive diagnosis I will like you-all know if it definitely is a Hantavirus and what strain.

I caught the trout in Clarion County in Pa in the main stem of the Clarion River

 

[njay23]

Glad you are well!!! Where do you get your juice? Seems a virus could live a lot longer in a bottle of juice than on the equipment. Could all just be a horrible coincidence too. Might have nothing to do with your vaping. Hope you get some conclusive results from your tests and again, glad you are here to tell us the story.

 

[Rlafontaine1971]

One month ago I came down with a mysterious virus that visciously attacked my internal organs and nearly killed me. I have been through some serious illnesses in my day, but nothing was as bad as this bug. After numerous tests the doctors have determined that is was most likely a Hantavirus, but my symptoms did not match the North American strain, however they are a perfect match for the Asian strain which is also known as hemorrhagic fever. The Doctors repeated asked me if I had recently traveled to Asia, but I had not, but my new wick tanks were made there. The virus is contracted by breathing in air that is contaminated by rodent feces and urine and is rarely spread person to person. Is it a coincidence that I came down with this bug four days after breaking in a new tank and it is a virus endemic to Asia and parts of Russia.
You can decide for yourself, but I think that it might be agood idea to figure out a standard procedure for sanitizing new vaping devices manufactured in Asian. The parts could have become contaminated at any phase of the manufacturing, packing or shipping process.
Fortunately with medical and I.V. support I did not experience the final phases of this illness which gives it its name or I might not be writing you about it.

It's a little bit ironic but something similar to that is actually what got me into vaping. Several months ago something called necrotizing faciitus (flesh eating disease) got a hold of me. I have absolutely no idea how or where I got it from. I noticed a small painful red dot on my arm and thought something might have bitten me. Less than 24 hours later my arm was very swollen, extremely painful and discolored. I went to see my doctor later that evening and next thing I know Im on my way to the burn center for an emergency surgery. I would up having 5 surgeries over the next 10 days. That flesh eating bacteria causes some unreal pain. I have a very high pain tolerance but this was ridiculous. I couldnt take the pain meds (morphine and oxy just make me sick) so I had to suffer through it. At that time I was smoking two packs of Newport 100s a day. It was killing me not being able to smoke at the hospital so my family was bringing me several of the disposable e-cigs every day. I probably went throught about $300 worth before I got out. None of us new anything about e-cigs and had no idea you could actually get rechargeable ones. Anyway, my birthday was coming up the weekend that I got out and my family wanted me to stay off the cigarettes and ordered a Provari for me. Struggled pretty hard trying to figure out how to use it but finally got the hang of it and have been smoke free ever since. Only bad thing is im hooked more on vaping than I was cigarettes and I buy way too many damn toys. These people need to stop making shiny little gadgets so I can start saving some money.

 

[oxygen thief]

That fish looks awesome, much better than four walls in a hospital.