vendor Virus Policies

[Jmoney]

Ray, I agree with you 100% that negative tests on all plants in a collection does not equate to "virus free". It does not factor in the other viruses, and of course false negatives. Perhaps some plants have low level infections that don't cause a positive test line.

However I do not think that the other (human) viruses you mention are necessarily applicable, as VZV (chicken pox) and HIV are well-known for causing chronic infections. In the former, the virus stays dormant in the neurons, and in the latter, we have not yet found a cure, although suppression with antivirals avoids deterioration of the immune system. That is why kids who are vaccinated against VZV should theoretically never get chicken pox / shingles, assuming immunity doesn't wane over time. HCV is a good example of a virus that usually causes chronic infections...and over the past decade or so newer antivirals are capable of actually eradicating this infection.

estacion, tobacco mosaic is the same family of virus as ORSV. I heard that some of the academic plant research facilities had outlawed smoking around the plants back in the day when it was more common to smoke in the greenhouses. I am not sure that anyone has documented spread in this fashion but it seems to be a possibility.