Chinese Scientists Create Deadly Virus, Can Kill in 3 Days
Chinese scientists have created a virus that can kill a person in three days. This research at Hebei Medical University used a synthetic virus. Photo/ET CFO
- Chinese scientists have created a virus that can kill a person in three days. The research, conducted at Hebei Medical University, used a synthetic virus to simulate the deadly Ebola virus in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the pathogen.
Reporting from the Times of India, Monday (27/5/2024), this study clarifies the possible benefits and dangers of the experiment and was published in Science Direct.
Researchers at Hebei Medical University conducted a controversial study to engineer a virus using components of the deadly Ebola virus. They aim to investigate the development and symptoms of the disease using a model that can mimic the impact of Ebola on the human body.
The team used a virus known as vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which they modified to carry the glycoprotein (GP) of the Ebola virus. This protein is very important for viruses to enter and infect host cells.
Scientists conducted experiments on a group of Syrian hamsters, including five females and five males. After being injected with the engineered virus, the hamsters experienced severe symptoms similar to those of human Ebola patients.
These symptoms include systemic disease and multi-organ failure, leading to the animal's death within three days. Some hamsters also display discharge in their eyes, impairing their vision, a symptom associated with optic nerve disorders seen in Ebola virus disease (EVD) patients.
One of the main motivations behind this research is to create an animal model that safely mimics the symptoms of Ebola without the need for a Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) facility. Ebola research requires highly secure laboratories, but most global facilities only meet BSL-2 standards.
Using a VSV engineered with Ebola GP, the researchers created a model that can be studied in lower security environments. This breakthrough allows for more extensive and accessible research on Ebola and its potential treatments.