By The Associated Press
posted: 01 July 2007 11:48 am ET
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Malaysian state of Melaka is upset that scientists have named a new bat-borne virus after it, news reports said Sunday.
Australian and Malaysian scientists announced last week they discovered a new virus likely carried by bats that can cause respiratory illness in humans. They called it the Melaka Virus, using the name of the southern Malaysian state where the virus was isolated in early 2006 in a human patient.
Chief Minister Ali Rustam said Saturday the state does not want to be associated with the virus and called the name choice “an insult” to Melaka, which is a popular tourist destination because of its historical sites.
“Melaka is a good state, beautiful and peaceful, not the birthplace of diseases,” The Star daily quoted him as saying.
Health Minister Chua Soi Lek said his ministry would try to get the virus renamed.
Read on
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/ ... virus.html
Cavechat RSS Feed