Peco Incident - Harper Collins New Zealand

Teachers Notes for The Peco Incident
The Peco Incident is set on the Otago Peninsula, near Dunedin, New Zealand.
The major themes that background the story are:
• Bird viruses
• Battery farming of hens
• Biosecurity
• Eco-terrorism
• Hyperactive kids
• Albatrosses and penguins on the Otago Peninsula
What are viruses
Viruses have an influence on all lives. For many of us they are the cause of the most frequent
illness we get — the common cold and, more infrequently, influenza. The information given
here along with the activities suggested may help children understand what is happening
when they next suffer from a viral infection.
Because they cause disease, viruses are often grouped along with bacteria and fungi as germs.
However, they are very different things. Bacteria and fungi are made up of cells and are
capable of existing by themselves. Viruses are not made of cells and cannot carry out any life
processes without the help of a living organism. Reproduction is the only life process that
occurs with a virus and that has to be done within a living cell.
The influenza virus is modelled below.
Envelope
Hemagglutinin
Neuraminidase
RNA
The two types of structures sticking out from the sphere — hemagglutinin (H) and
neuraminidase (N) — are the proteins used to attach to the cell. They determine what sort of
cell they can attach to, that is, what sort of animal. There can be 16 different types of H and 9
different types of N. We label the strain of a virus using an HxNy code where x and y are the
type of H and N. For example, the swine flu of 2009 was H1N1. H5N1 was the bird flu of
2004. The bird flu in The Peco Incident is H6N3.
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If a virus enters the right sort of animal, it will be able to attach to a cell. The envelope then
opens and the eight strands of RNA enter the cell. They take over the cell and cause it to
construct viruses instead of doing its usual job. A single cell can make lots of viruses before it
uses up all its resources and dies. The viruses escape and infect other cells. And so it goes on.
Some of the viruses will escape from the first host and attack others.
V i r u s a c t i v i t i e s
Modelling a virus
Students could use a range of waste products to make models of a virus. The bottoms of
plastic drink bottles could be joined together to make the envelope. Strands of string or wool
could represent the RNA. The H and N bits don’t need to look like those in the diagram. They
can be any shape.
Strains
The strain of a virus is determined by the H and N as well as the strands of RNA inside. With
16 different types of H and 9 different types of N, how many different HxNy strains could
there be?
A virus in the body
We feel symptoms from a cold virus mostly because they destroy the cells of our body. Have
students form a list of symptoms from colds that they’ve had. Place them in a sequence. Then
combine the students’ results to find a pattern. Attempt to relate that pattern to the stage of
the viral infection.
The body’s defences
The body fights viruses with antibodies which attach to the surface of a virus so that it can’t
attach to a cell. It takes time for the body to manufacture an antibody for a particular strain.
Have students look at the results of the previous activity to see if they can identify the four
stages of a cold: initial infection, viruses attacking other cells, antibodies working, body
repairing damaged cells.
Preventing infection
Discuss the steps that can be taken to reduce the spread of viruses, particularly in the
classroom.
Medicines, vaccinations and sera
In The Peco Incident there are attempts to help the infected birds using medicines and sera.
Antiflu medicines
The three germs are bacteria, fungi and viruses. Each type requires a different type of drug:
antibiotics for bacteria: antifungal for fungi; antiviral for viruses. The best known antiviral is
Tamiflu.
Vaccines
A vaccine is a weakened form of a disease, or specific chemicals from a disease that will
cause a response in the body but not the disease.
This would be a good place to look at the work of Edward Jenner. The following website has
plenty of information.
http://www.jennermuseum.com/learning.html
Sera
A serum is blood with the blood cells and clotting agents removed. It contains antibodies and
can be taken from one person and used to control an infection in another.
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A crossword
The crossword on the next page has clues that give the answers to other clues. It can be used
to reinforce the coverage of viruses and their treatment.
Here is the solution:
Teaching Notes for The Peco Incident Page 3

Across
1 The type of germ
killed by taking
antibiotics (8)
3 Antibodies from
another person or
animal which are
injected to stop a
viral attack (5)
5 A flu attack starts
when one of these
gets attached to a
living cell (5)
7 The type of drug that
will kill viruses in
the body (9)
8 The type of drug that
will kill bacteria in
the body (10)
12 A vaccination
should give you this
(8)
13 A type of germ - the singular of 14 down (6)
15 The H and N parts of a virus attach the virus to a living _ _ _ _ (4)
16 Viruses can only reproduce in a _ _ _ _ _ _ cell (6)
17 Swine flu is this type of virus (4)
18 When a vaccine is injected into you (11)
19 There are eight of these bits of RNA in a flu virus (7)
1 2 3 4
5 6 7
11 12
15
8 9
13 14
16 17
20 Washing these is the simplest way to reduce the spread of a viral disease (5)
18
19 20
10
Down
2 The body produces these to fight viruses in the body (10)
4 There are eight strands of this substance in a flu virus (3)
6 When used on the hands this substance can stop the spread of disease (4)
7 The type of drug that will kill fungi in the body (10)
9 You become this after a vaccination (6)
10 The virus that is most likely to attack your body. Two words. (6, 4)
11 A weakened form of a disease that will give you immunity from the disease (7)
12 The full name of the flu (9)
14 A type of germ - the plural of 13 across (5)
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Battery farming of hens
Collect egg cartons and classify them according to the way the hens were farmed: battery, barn,
free range. Students are likely to find the labels on the cartons may not be specific, with some
being intentionally misleading.
There is a lot of information on the internet about the three types.
http://www.greenfootsteps.com/battery-farming.html is biased but does put forward alternative
arguments.
The Otago Peninsula
Many children will be unable to locate Dunedin on a map. Google Earth will not only allow them
to locate the Otago Peninsula, but to also visit the places mentioned in The Peco Incident. All
places in the story are real and are described as they were when the author visited in 2008.
Google Earth has numerous photos of the area and its animals.
Places to locate are:
o Hastings where Nick normally lives
o Dunedin Airport at Momona for the start and end of the story
o Harwood where Danny and his family live
o Portobello, the main town on the Peninsula
o Allans Beach where lots of the action happens
o Queenstown where the characters go for bungee jumping
o Taiaroa Head where the story reaches a climax.
W life i of the l Otago Peninsula d
The Otago Peninsula has a range of southern animals readily accessible within a short distance
from a city. There are plenty of websites featuring this wildlife. Here are some starting points.
List of birds: http://www.nzbirds.com/birding/otagopeninsularbirds.html
Penguins: http://www.penguin.net.nz/viewing/yellow.html
Albatrosses: http://www.albatross.org.nz/
Sea lions: http://www.sealiontrust.org.nz/index.htm
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