In addition to the one that caused the pandemic disaster from Covid, there have been two other researches conducted in Chinese laboratories (linked to PLA?) that have caused great concern in the outside world: the one on Ebola and the one on pangolin coronavirus, published by a Chinese research group on Jan. 19
Scientists at China's Hebei Medical University have engineered a virus using parts of the Ebola, apparently to analyse the disease and its symptoms, but raising fears as this pathogen could potentially kill in three days. The genetically modified virus turned out to be a variant that reportedly killed lab hamsters within just three days of exposure.
Abs Virus Ebola - 3d rendered image of Ebola virus. SEM view. Credit GettyImages
The world may see it as a new threat from China, amid existing theories that the coronavirus (COVID-19), which has killed millions, escaped from a Wuhan laboratory.
The recent study, published in Science Direct, revealed that researchers used a glycoprotein found in the Ebola virus, which leads the virus to infect cells and spread throughout the human body, to create the pathogen in the lab.
They created a strain that caused severe systemic illnesses similar to those seen in human Ebola patients, including multi-organ failure.
As per the study, some hamsters developed scabs over the surface of their eyeballs, which eventually affected their vision.
As quoted by Science Direct, the researchers said, "It is a sign that 3-week-old Syrian hamsters infected with the virus have the possibility of playing a role in the study of optic nerve disorders caused by EVD."
The study mentioned that animal experiments were performed after it was approved by the animal experimental committee of the Laboratory Animal Center, Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science.
Ever since Covid was declared a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020, several claims and counterclaims have been made over its origin. Many assumed that it spread in a live animal market before spreading throughout the world. But some also claimed it was leaked from a lab.
In particular, it should be noted that last March a new and definitive 329-page report was released by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL and Vice-Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee) where it concluded that "a major biosecurity incident" in China likely caused the coronavirus pandemic.
The Rubio report is based largely on previously unreported Chinese-language sources and provides significant circumstantial evidence to support the lab leak theory. The result of months of investigation by the senator's staff, the report examines the history of Chinese Communist Party bioweapons research going back decades, as well as the party's behavior before and after the outbreak.
The study suggests that in 2018 Beijing began exerting "intense political pressure" on the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other biological research facilities to "produce technological breakthroughs" with military applications.
Also according to the report, part of that effort involved pushing scientists away from using key equipment from foreign competitors, even as those scientists began to warn of significant security concerns.
However, in the recent Ebola study, the Chinese researchers emphasized that their goal was to replicate Ebola symptoms in a controlled laboratory environment. They wanted to understand and facilitate prevention strategies.
Notably, the scientists and researchers used a different virus, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), to transport Ebola glycoprotein as the deadly Ebola requires exceptionally secure Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) facilities. The mentioned protein is critical for the virus's ability to enter and infect host cells.
As quoted by Science Direct, the researchers said, "Overall, this surrogate model represents a safe, effective, and economical tool for rapid preclinical evaluation of medical countermeasures against EBOV (Ebola virus) under BSL-2 conditions, which would accelerate technological advances and breakthroughs in confronting Ebola virus disease."
Patients exhibited serious symptoms when tested
The experiment was first conducted on a group of Syrian hamsters that included five females and five males. Moreover, on administering the first injection with the engineered virus, the hamsters developed serious symptoms that are similar to the ones in human Ebola patients. The symptoms of the disease included the symptoms of systemic diseases and multiorgan failure which is the leading cause of death in animals within three days.
On the other hand, other hamsters also show secretions in their eyes which damage their vision. This condition is also linked to a symptom of optic nerve disorders seen in Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) patients.
The major reason behind conducting this study is to build an animal model that safely replicates the Ebola symptoms without the need for Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) facilities. For researching Ebola, extremely secure labs are required but most of the global facilities only have BSL-2 standards
Last January, another experiment
The latest research on the pangolin coronavirus, published by a Chinese research team on January 19, has caused great concern in the outside world. According to an article published on bioRxiv, a preprint website operated by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, researchers successfully cultivated a new GX_P2V C7 mutant strain with a high lethality rate, causing mice to die in just 7- 8 days, with a mortality rate of 100%.
The study revealed the extreme measures used by the Chinese Communist Party to experiment with pangolin coronaviruses, raising questions in the medical community.
Read also: Here we go again. The CCP has once again used "extreme measures" to cultivate a new mutant strain of coronavirus with a 100% mortality rate
Questioning scientific rationality: forced infection and lack of biosecurity
Regarding the controversy caused by the study, François Ballou, an epidemiologist at University College London, criticized the experiment as "terrible" and pointed out that this kind of scientific research is scientifically meaningless.
He further pointed out that it is difficult to obtain any valuable information by forcibly infecting strange humanized mice, and may instead cause more problems. In addition, he is concerned that the study did not mention biosafety levels and precautions, raising concerns about the unsafety of the experiment, similar to the research conducted in Wuhan from 2016 to 2019, which may lead to a new coronavirus pandemic.
Biosafety is critical when conducting high-risk research like this. Lack of biosafety constraints can lead to uncontrollable and potentially catastrophic consequences of research.
This also reminds us that scientists must comply with strict biosafety standards while pursuing knowledge to ensure the rationality of experiments and the safety of society.
It is worth noting that at the end of 2022, the CCP announced the end of its three-year epidemic containment policy. However, recent pangolin coronavirus research suggests that the end-of-pandemic myth may be a dangerous form of self-deception.
Chinese authorities appear to have neglected to study the dangers of new variants, an oversight that could lead to another outbreak.
At a recent policy briefing, officials from the Chinese Communist Party’s Disease Control and Prevention Bureau admitted that the Omicron variant JN.1 may become the dominant epidemic strain of the new coronavirus in China and increase the risk of severe illness and death among vulnerable groups.
This once again highlights the CCP’s irresponsibility in responding to the epidemic and its inadequacy of vaccines and prevention and control strategies.
The international crisis behind the CCP’s scientific madness.
The CCP’s irresponsible behavior in pangolin coronavirus research has caused great concern to the international community.
The dangers of this research and potential threats to society should arouse high vigilance from the international community.
This also calls on governments and international organizations to implement stricter supervision of scientific research to ensure that scientific development does not bring catastrophic consequences and to protect global public safety.
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