Your brain might already be infected with a virus, abeg!
Okay, so this is actually wild. You know how sometimes you hear about these really rare, really terrifying things? Like, 'oh, this brain-eating amoeba, but only if you swim in *this one* specific pond in Florida.' Well, apparently, there's a virus out there, called Borna disease virus 1 (BDV-1), that can cause fatal brain infections, and we all thought it was only a problem for people with seriously compromised immune systems. Turns out? Not so much. New research is saying that it can infect people with normal immune systems too, and it’s likely way more common than anyone realized.
### Is This Real Life?
The thing is, it's not like you're going to just drop dead tomorrow. This virus is linked to shrews, those tiny, pointy-nosed mammals that look like a mouse and a mole had a baby. They carry the virus, and then humans get it from contact with their droppings or urine. The good news is, in Saskatoon, we don't exactly have an abundance of shrews just chilling on the Broadway Bridge. But it makes you think, doesn't it? We're so quick to worry about West Nile from mosquitos by the river in summer, but what about the stuff we don't even know to worry about?
* BDV-1 was thought to only affect immunocompromised people.
* New research suggests it can infect anyone, even those with healthy immune systems.
* It's transmitted through contact with shrew droppings or urine.
* It causes fatal brain infections in some cases.
It's just another reminder that even when we're tucked away in our prairie bubble, sipping on some Saskatoon berry kombucha, the world is still out there doing its wild thing. And sometimes, that thing is a silent brain-eating virus that's been chilling in the background all along. Honestly, it makes me want to go home and bleach everything. Saskatoon — seven bridges, two rivers, and something happening you haven't heard about yet, usually involving nature being way more complicated than we give it credit for.
Blessing here, and the MiTL crew always has the wildest stories on the Morning Wire. Catch them live, every day, at mornings.live.