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Nearly 200 people under observation after Irkutsk lab worker dies from plague

229 points · 208 comments · ericmay

  1. robmusial · · focus · HN ↗
    I literally just finished Annie Jacobsen's book 'Biological War: A Scenario' last week where the central plot point is an accidental release of modified form of pneumonic plague from a lab in Siberia. Very coincidental timing, especially since it made me wonder how often labs like these have accidents and we never hear about them because it is cleaned up without issue.
    1. petcat · · focus · HN ↗
      > made me wonder how often labs like these have accidents and we never hear about them because it is cleaned up without issue.

      Did anyone ever confirm if the lab in Wuhan China was the originator of COVID? I remember that was a rumor but never heard if there was anything to it.

      1. mvlipwig · · focus · HN ↗
        It's difficult to say for sure, but the consensus is leaning towards zoonotic origin from a bat or pangolin in a wet market. (I'm not very well researched on this topic and don't have any formal background in it, so hedge accordingly)
        1. SV_BubbleTime · · focus · HN ↗
          >but the consensus is leaning towards zoonotic origin from a bat or pangolin in a wet market

          I literally had to check the date on this post.

          Does anyone else remember when claiming it was a lab in China that leaked was “racist”… but “they eat tainted exotic animals at wet markets” was “the consensus”?

          Wild times!

          1. Angostura · · focus · HN ↗
            > Does anyone else remember when claiming it was a lab in China that leaked was “racist”

            No. I remember it being called a conspiracy theory. And it still is.

            1. logicchains · · focus · HN ↗
              How on Earth is a conspiracy theory? It doesn't require any conspiracy for a lab working on virus gain-of-function research to accidentally leak a virus. This HN thread is literally about a disease leaking from a biolab!
              1. mike_hearn · · focus · HN ↗
                It's a "conspiracy theory" because the Chinese and their funders like Fauci/NIH deny it, thus, it requires a conspiracy to cover up what really happened.

                But it's more like conspiracy fact by now. We have written records of NIH funded scientists literally conspiring with each other, even debating how to throw journalists off the trail.

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