https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1787484060870156587
Chief Nerd
@TheChiefNerd
🚨 “Chinese scientists have engineered a virus with parts of Ebola in a lab that killed a group of hamsters.
A team of researchers at Hebei Medical University used a contagious disease of livestock and added a protein found in Ebola, which allows the virus to infect cells and spread throughout the human body.
The group of hamsters that received the lethal injection 'developed severe systemic diseases similar to those observed in human Ebola patients,' including multi-organ failure,' the study shared.
One particularly horrific symptom saw the infected hamsters develop secretions in their eyes, which impaired their vision and scabbed over the surface of the eyeballs.
While the experiment may spark fears of another lab leak, the researchers say their goal was to find the right animal models that can safely mimic Ebola symptoms in a lab setting.
They also noted that the experiments provided a rapid preclinical evaluation of medical countermeasures against Ebola under BLS-2 conditions, concluding the study was a success.”