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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. TacticalCoder · · focus · HN ↗
        > 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.

        Official report mandated by US Congress (under Biden btw): says it's likely it's a lab leak of a modified virus. CIA also changed its official stance and consider it's likely a lab leak.

        The international expert who everybody based its idea that "it cannot possibly be a lab leak" has been debarred and cannot ever get funding from the US for research on modified viruses.

        To me there's "something" off and it is a lab leak. And I always felt like this.

        1. kennywinker · · focus · HN ↗
          > And I always felt like this.

          Hence you looked for evidence that matched and dismissed evidence that doesn't match.

          Unless you can tell me that the majority of virologists agree it was a lab leak, I'm going to go with their majority opinion - which last I checked was that it couldn't possibly be a lab leak for specific genetic reasons.

          1. 1718627440 · · focus · HN ↗
            > I'm going to go with their majority opinion

            It seems like which of these two is the majority opinion heavily depends on the language/country you read information in and also whether there are still in service or not.

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