Chinese lab playing around with Ebola virus

[Phil C. McNasty]

For those of you who still dont believe Covid got away from the Wuhan lab, have a look what another Chinese lab is currently working on.
Its an altered Ebola virus that (so far) has only killed a bunch of hamsters.
What if that same virus mutates, escapes from their lab, and causes another pandemic??
Are you Lefties okay with that??!!

Chinese scientists engineer virus with parts of Ebola in a lab

A team of researchers at Hebei Medical University engineered virus to contain parts of Ebola in a lab that killed a group of hamsters in just three days.

www.dailymail.co.uk

And for the morons out there who wont accept a Daily Mail article, here's the study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1995820X24000361#sec2

 

[kherg007]

For those of you who still dont believe Covid got away from the Wuhan lab, have a look what another Chinese lab is currently working on.
Its an altered Ebola virus that (so far) has only killed a bunch of hamsters.
What if that same virus mutates, escapes from their lab, and causes another pandemic??
Are you Lefties okay with that??!!

Chinese scientists engineer virus with parts of Ebola in a lab

A team of researchers at Hebei Medical University engineered virus to contain parts of Ebola in a lab that killed a group of hamsters in just three days.

www.dailymail.co.uk

And for the morons out there who wont accept a Daily Mail article, here's the study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1995820X24000361#sec2

The Chinese hold a shit ton of blame. They sat on info that would have helped virologists around the world fight this sooner. All to cover their collective political arses. A million plus lives lost because of that. This is why authoritarian regimes suck. Just like Trump promising it will just go away, or offering quack cures. When the science disagrees with the pronouncements of the leader, shut down the science (like how DeSantis fired his health info person for providing accurateinfo). Trump took a page out of the USSR and appointed a political minder at the US CDC to kill or alter anything that might put trump in a bad light.
BTW, this sort of virology work does happen routinely, and it's how vaccines are developed to prepare for such outbreaks.
The study does not prove a lab leak, BTW. Does not exclude it either.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

The Chinese hold a shit ton of blame.
They sat on info that would have helped virologists around the world fight this sooner.
All to cover their collective political arses. A million plus lives lost because of that

Try 7 million

Coronavirus Death Toll and Trends - Worldometer

Updated total and statistics, graphs and charts tracking the total number of deaths, deaths per day, and death by country from the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) originating from Wuhan, China

www.worldometers.info

The study does not prove a lab leak, BTW. Does not exclude it either

Agreed, but it looks a helluva lot suspicious

 

[silentkisser]

Try 7 million

Coronavirus Death Toll and Trends - Worldometer

Updated total and statistics, graphs and charts tracking the total number of deaths, deaths per day, and death by country from the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) originating from Wuhan, China

www.worldometers.info

Agreed, but it looks a helluva lot suspicious

I'm pretty sure that labs in Canada, the US and Europe are looking at viruses like Ebola and ways to create vaccines. Ebola is not as dangerous, because people tend to die before they can spread it. But, there are related diseases that spread a lot faster, and being prepared is important.

Now, the first thing we should all recognize is that the vast majority of journalists are scientifically illiterate. So, they went for the "scare factor" instead of putting in the lede the importance of finding an animal that can mimic the disease like it does on a human.

 

[basketcase]

For those of you who still dont believe Covid got away from the Wuhan lab, have a look what another Chinese lab is currently working on.
Its an altered Ebola virus that (so far) has only killed a bunch of hamsters.
What if that same virus mutates, escapes from their lab, and causes another pandemic??
Are you Lefties okay with that??!!
...

I am absolutely okay with research using dangerous viruses as studying them is the only way to develop treatments and cures.

Do I trust China's government to look out for us? No way. Do I trust that Chinese scientists are just as competent as Canadian and American virus researchers? Absolutely.

And has any new evidence come out supporting the lab-leak hypothesis for covid?

 

[basketcase]

I'm pretty sure that labs in Canada, the US and Europe are looking at viruses like Ebola and ways to create vaccines. Ebola is not as dangerous, because people tend to die before they can spread it. But, there are related diseases that spread a lot faster, and being prepared is important.

Now, the first thing we should all recognize is that the vast majority of journalists are scientifically illiterate. So, they went for the "scare factor" instead of putting in the lede the importance of finding an animal that can mimic the disease like it does on a human.

But what happens if ebola and the 1918 flu combine, a monkey sneaks into the US and becomes a family pet in California?

 

[JuanGoodman]

There are lots of labs around the world that research on viruses, alter them etc., It is also very common for lab leaks to occur. Usually does not become a pandemic, but has happened in the past even in the US.

yes, like the one back in 2020

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

There are lots of labs around the world that research on viruses, alter them etc., It is also very common for lab leaks to occur. Usually does not become a pandemic, but has happened in the past even in the US

If the next lab leak starts a pandemic with a new virus which has a 90% kill rate, will mucking around with viruses have been worth it??

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

They always muck around with viruses without which we wouldn't have life saving drugs or vaccines.

So as long as we have life saving drugs, its okay to (potentially) kill 90% of the planet??

Kinda defeats the purpose of having life saving drugs, now doesnt it??

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

When has virus research killed 90% of the planet?

It hasnt yet. But it could possibly happen some day.
Thats why I used the word "potentially"

 

[silentkisser]

But what happens if ebola and the 1918 flu combine, a monkey sneaks into the US and becomes a family pet in California?

It would be an OUTBREAK!!!

From what I've been reading, health officials across the globe are already preparing for the next pandemic. There are so many reasons why this is happening, and it does not include a leak from a lab. But, because of a certain cohort of people, the next one will probably be even more deadly because they won't mask or isolate...

 

[Valcazar]

For those of you who still dont believe Covid got away from the Wuhan lab, have a look what another Chinese lab is currently working on.
Its an altered Ebola virus that (so far) has only killed a bunch of hamsters.
What if that same virus mutates, escapes from their lab, and causes another pandemic??
Are you Lefties okay with that??!!

Chinese scientists engineer virus with parts of Ebola in a lab

A team of researchers at Hebei Medical University engineered virus to contain parts of Ebola in a lab that killed a group of hamsters in just three days.

www.dailymail.co.uk

And for the morons out there who wont accept a Daily Mail article, here's the study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1995820X24000361#sec2

I'm not sure what you think we should be objecting to?
All research on viruses should be shut down?
Or are you objecting to them making less lethal version of Ebola that they can study more safely?

 

[Valcazar]

And has any new evidence come out supporting the lab-leak hypothesis for covid?

They don't think they need evidence.
Just innuendo.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

He seems to be saying that all virus research should be shut down because there could be a future extinction level event, due to a lab leak. But without said virus research, we could infact have a future extinction level event!

If an unknown virus suddenly appears and has a 90% kill rate there's nothing we could do preemptively.
All we could do is try and quickly come up with a vaccine (like we did with Covid).

BTW can you name one virus that currently exists that we need to find vaccines for??
Smallpox maybe, but we already have a vaccine for that.
Ebola maybe, but Ebola tends to burn out very quickly before it spreads and rarely breaches containment areas.
HIV we have protease inhibitors for.
Besides HIV only affected certain risk groups, and was never going to kill 90% of the planet

I can't think of one virus that we currently need a vaccine for. Can you??

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

I'm not sure what you think we should be objecting to?

In this case I object to mucking around with the Ebola virus

All research on viruses should be shut down?

Yes

Or are you objecting to them making less lethal version of Ebola that they can study more safely?

I strongly object

 

[Valcazar]

If an unknown virus suddenly appears and has a 90% kill rate there's nothing we could do preemptively.
All we could do is try and quickly come up with a vaccine (like we did with Covid).

BTW can you name one virus that currently exists that we need to find vaccines for??
Smallpox maybe, but we already have a vaccine for that.
Ebola maybe, but Ebola tends to burn out very quickly before it spreads and rarely breaches containment areas.
HIV we have protease inhibitors for.
Besides HIV only affected certain risk groups, and was never going to kill 90% of the planet

I can't think of one virus that we currently need a vaccine for. Can you??

Oh.
Shocking.
This has become an anti-vax thead.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

Oh.
Shocking.
This has become an anti-vax thead.

I'm not anti-vax at all. I took Hep A vaccine many years ago when I went to Panama and there was an outbreak.
If a new virus appears on the planet of course we should come up with a vaccine.
But other then that I dont think labs should be mucking around with dangerous viruses like Ebola to find a vaccine which we dont really need

 

[Valcazar]

In this case I object to mucking around with the Ebola virus

Yes

Just anti-science in general?

I strongly object

OK then.
We will disagree on the "public health is good, actually" thing.

 

[Valcazar]

I'm not anti-vax at all. I took Hep A vaccine many years ago when I went to Panama and there was an outbreak.
If a new virus appears on the planet of course we should come up with a vaccine.
But other then that I dont think labs should be mucking around with dangerous viruses like Ebola to find a vaccine which we dont really need

Ah, so that wasn't a "there are no viruses we need a vaccine for" it was a "there are no viruses we need a new vaccine for" statement?

We have already established you are against all research, so forgive me if I read it as broader than it was.

 

[basketcase]

It would be an OUTBREAK!!!
...

Can't happen. But just in case, let me know if you see Dustin Hoffman and Renee Russo in the same place.