SARS pathogen confirmed

Urban Ranger · April 16, 2003, 22:06

A new strain of coronavirus is confirmed to cause SARS:

Quote:

GENEVA -- Today, the World Health Organization announced that a new pathogen, a member of the coronavirus family never before seen in humans, is the cause of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The speed at which this virus was identified is the result of the close international collaboration of 13 laboratories from 10 countries. While many lines of evidence have found strong associations between this virus and the disease over the last weeks, final confirmation came today.

WHO website

Sava · April 16, 2003, 22:10

Pretty soon American Pharamaceutical companies will release their new wonder-drug SarSbegone and extort people in the name of Capitalism!

yavoon · April 16, 2003, 22:20

socialist!

=D

Sava · April 16, 2003, 22:22

I'm waiting for the attacks on China. "blyyaaahhh it's a leftist conspiracy"

Lefty Scaevola · April 17, 2003, 00:34

Quote:

Originally posted by Sava
I'm waiting for the attacks on China. "blyyaaahhh it's a leftist conspiracy"

About a week ago a top Tussian biologist (with former goverment position) opined that SARS was the result an accidental release of a bio-egineer weapon by the chineese. I have not heard that anywhere else.

Jarvin · April 17, 2003, 00:37

If it is a bio-weapon it isnt a very good one, not nearly contageous enough. This either proves that that top Russian scientist is an idiot, or that the Chinese are incompetent. Either way is fine.

KrazyHorse · April 17, 2003, 00:41

Apparently Health Canada has its doubts. Sars association with the coronavirus is weak in Canadian cases, and animals innoculated with the coronavirus they did find in some cases remained healthy (unlike similar tests elsewhere).

Urban Ranger · April 17, 2003, 00:43

There are other microbes found too. The Chinese found some sort of bateria earlier, and the local CU isolated another kind of viruses. The current explanation is the coronavirus causes the illness, these other beasties make it worse.

Urban Ranger · April 17, 2003, 00:44

Quote:

Originally posted by Jarvin
If it is a bio-weapon it isnt a very good one, not nearly contageous enough. This either proves that that top Russian scientist is an idiot, or that the Chinese are incompetent. Either way is fine.

Silly man. It is a campaign of misinformation.

DaShi · April 17, 2003, 09:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Sava
I'm waiting for the attacks on China. "blyyaaahhh it's a leftist conspiracy"

Are the rumors true that the Chinese created this virus and now it has gotten out of control?

Lancer · April 17, 2003, 12:16

Well, I don't want to die.

Sava · April 17, 2003, 16:20

It's not genetically engineered. My mom's company is researching the disease right now.

Lancer · April 17, 2003, 22:27

Sava's mom is on the case. I feel safer already. Sava, this makes you Apolyton's foremost authority on the subject. Keep us informed!

Urban Ranger · April 18, 2003, 02:06

Quote:

Originally posted by DaShi
Are the rumors true that the Chinese created this virus and now it has gotten out of control?

Yeah. A couple of elementary school kids were messing around with genetic engineering but forgot to destroy the viruses afterwards.

Bad, bad kids.

Skanky Burns · April 18, 2003, 06:44

Sava · April 18, 2003, 07:22

Quote:

Originally posted by Lancer

Sava's mom is on the case. I feel safer already. Sava, this makes you Apolyton's foremost authority on the subject. Keep us informed!

Sorry that members of my family are directly involved in this story instead of sitting on their ass watching FoxNews.

MRT144 · April 18, 2003, 08:23

ive taken a liking to walking around and coughing then saying "Damn SARS, i wonder if ill get any worse" in public mind you.

SpencerH · April 18, 2003, 08:39

A collegue of mine (an MD so not too up on actual science) in infectious disease who has the office beside me has also 'wondered whether SARS was a bioterrorist plot'. I managed to refrain from calling him an idiot while pointing out how unlikely it is.

Sava, I have some expertise in this field but I have no idea how you can make that claim. Unless the molecular biologists making the new strain decide to leave markers of their work I cant think of any way to differentiate a natural recombination event (as this probably was) from one done in a lab.

Sava · April 18, 2003, 08:43

From what I have been told, the pathogen's DNA is too complex for someone to fine tune it. It's possible, but extremely unlikely that the DNA was modified in such a way to make it a weapon. One would have had to map the Genome, then find out which combinations of DNA gave it it's properties. Pathogens like these mutate all the time. Again it's possible, but I've been told I have a better chance of winning the lottery.

gunkulator · April 18, 2003, 08:43

Wow, only took two posts to turn this into yet another Bash America thread. UR, congrats on your restraint in the first post.

Sava · April 18, 2003, 08:46

Who's DL are you again?

Not Bash-America... bash American Pharmaceutical companies. These companies don't hold the same values of freedom, democracy, and rule of law. Nice try though.

SpencerH · April 18, 2003, 08:48

The best reason not to believe its engineered is simply that it's not very effective. 4% lethality is not high enough for a bio-weapon.

gunkulator · April 18, 2003, 08:51

What's with the DL thing, Sava? That's like three times now. Give it up or at least find a different emoticon to post.

Are there no French, German, British, Canadian or Russia phamaceutical companies? Or are the only evil ones American?

Sava · April 18, 2003, 10:08

American companies are the worst... although I bashed the German "Bayer" in my Halliburton thread. BTW I jokingly call you a DL because you are a settler with a join date of Feb 2003. OT posters that suddenly appear and don't post in the on-topic forums are always suspect and subject to DL accusations.

Urban Ranger · April 18, 2003, 10:12

Quote:

Originally posted by Sava
From what I have been told, the pathogen's DNA is too complex for someone to fine tune it.

The virus has RNA, not DNA.

gunkulator · April 18, 2003, 10:15

OK. I actually did spend my first few weeks in the on-topic world but this place sucked me in quickly. I also just recently discovered that most of my 86 posts don't count because they are here! Foul, say I!

Perhaps I kneejerked about the anti-American thing. It's a popular sport around here apparently.

Sava · April 18, 2003, 10:17

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger

The virus has RNA, not DNA.

wouldn't be the first time...

Mou · April 19, 2003, 08:34

In respirator I believe.