3 ms·

The SARS release was AFTER it'd spread worldwide and I'm guessing was from a lab studying the already spreading disease. I'm sure plenty of labs over the last 6

The SARS release was AFTER it'd spread worldwide and I'm guessing was from a lab studying the already spreading disease. I'm sure plenty of labs over the last 6 months have released COVID as well but it doesn't much matter since it's already widespread.

littlestymaar 6y ago
Also, SARS was classified BSL3 to allow more labs to study it. The Wuhan lab is a BSL4-certified one, which have much lower leakage risk by design.
- arcticbull 6y ago
  I mean, none of them should leak. With that said, the Wuhan lab had both BSL-2 and BSL-3 units studying bat coronaviruses before the pandemic [1]. After the COVID pandemic hit the PRC mandated all COVID research be carried out in BSL-3+ conditions; the research they're doing at the moment on COVID happens to be done in their BSL-4 facility but only because of lack of sufficient resources in their BSL-3 facility; that's likely temporary [2]. I'm not sure why a secondary leak after a pandemic already began would be just fine though. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan_Institute_of_Virology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan_Institute_of_Virology [2] https://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/Shi%20Zhengli%20Q%26A.pdf https://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/Shi%20Zhengli...
  - littlestymaar 6y ago
    > With that said, the Wuhan lab had both BSL-2 and BSL-3 units studying bat coronaviruses before the pandemic [1]. That's interesting indeed. Thanks. > I mean, none of them should leak. In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. BSL-3 shouldn't leak, yet we don't put super scary viruses in there, because we know the probability it could happen isn't that low. > I'm not sure why a secondary leak after a pandemic already began would be just fine though. Fine isn't the word. It's still an industrial accident, but not necessarily a catastrophe. Do we even have an example of such leak that would have triggered an epidemic in the vicinity of the lab?
  - imtringued 6y ago
    > I mean, none of them should leak. That's not easy to say. "Leaking" can be as simple as a researcher catching COVID outside the lab and then spreading it to a coworker who then spreads it outside the lab.

littlestymaar 6y ago

Also, SARS was classified BSL3 to allow more labs to study it. The Wuhan lab is a BSL4-certified one, which have much lower leakage risk by design.

arcticbull 6y ago
I mean, none of them should leak. With that said, the Wuhan lab had both BSL-2 and BSL-3 units studying bat coronaviruses before the pandemic [1]. After the COVID pandemic hit the PRC mandated all COVID research be carried out in BSL-3+ conditions; the research they're doing at the moment on COVID happens to be done in their BSL-4 facility but only because of lack of sufficient resources in their BSL-3 facility; that's likely temporary [2]. I'm not sure why a secondary leak after a pandemic already began would be just fine though. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan_Institute_of_Virology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan_Institute_of_Virology [2] https://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/Shi%20Zhengli%20Q%26A.pdf https://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/Shi%20Zhengli...
- littlestymaar 6y ago
  > With that said, the Wuhan lab had both BSL-2 and BSL-3 units studying bat coronaviruses before the pandemic [1]. That's interesting indeed. Thanks. > I mean, none of them should leak. In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. BSL-3 shouldn't leak, yet we don't put super scary viruses in there, because we know the probability it could happen isn't that low. > I'm not sure why a secondary leak after a pandemic already began would be just fine though. Fine isn't the word. It's still an industrial accident, but not necessarily a catastrophe. Do we even have an example of such leak that would have triggered an epidemic in the vicinity of the lab?
- imtringued 6y ago
  > I mean, none of them should leak. That's not easy to say. "Leaking" can be as simple as a researcher catching COVID outside the lab and then spreading it to a coworker who then spreads it outside the lab.