Manipulation of coronavirus in Chinese laboratory: New mutant strain of virus created turns out to be 100% deadly

Should we be concerned about scientific research aimed at developing a vaccine? Work is being done in this direction around the world, but when we talk about the coronavirus, virus manipulation and Chinese laboratories, memories of the Covid-19 pandemic immediately resurface.

The virus was identified before the Covid crisis

Two covid-19-like viruses derived from pangolins were discovered in 2017 before the appearance of covid-19 and the resulting pandemic. The Chinese researchers then isolated them to examine and later manipulate them.

When inoculated into hamsters and mice resembling human characteristics, the virus had opposite effects. But one of the two initially harmless viruses, GX-P2V, has mutated, making this new strain extremely dangerous.

This change occurred while it was being grown in the laboratory. The researchers wanted to understand the mechanisms of this very rapid mutation before infecting mice. The latter have all died.

The researchers, who published their work on January 11, 2024 in the scientific journal Bioresearch, believe that the virus triggers the infection in the animals’ brains. And assume that the result would be the same in the event of human contamination.

“Pangolin coronavirus GX_P2V can cause 100% mortality in human transgenic mice, potentially attributable to late-stage brain infection. This indicates the risk of spreading GX_P2V to humans”is written.

risk?

Concerns have arisen in the face of this discovery, whose pre-publication has not yet been validated by the scientific community.

For Bruno Canard, Research Director of the CNRS, this is research “Very worrying on many issues”, According to the report Le Figaro.

Beyond the interest of this work, there are significant risks to consider when creating lethal viruses. Especially since escaping into nature is always possible.

Many researchers call for this type of practice to be highly regulated. These manipulations, carried out by scientists at the University of Chemical Technology in Beijing, are completely banned in France.