Amman – In a study similar to the Wuhan laboratory incident, Chinese scientists conducted experiments on a mutant strain of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to be 100% lethal on mice.
In detail, the deadly virus known as GX_P2V attacked the brains of mice that were designed to reflect the genetic makeup similar to humans, according to a study shared last week from Beijing and published by the New York Post.
“This underscores the risk of the GX_P2V virus spreading to humans and provides a unique model for understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses,” the authors wrote of the study, according to Al Arabiya Net.
The deadly virus is a mutated version of GX/2017, a cousin of the coronavirus that was discovered in Malaysian pangolins in 2017 – three years before the outbreak of the epidemic. Pangolins, also called pangolins, are mammals found in warm regions of the planet.
All of the mice infected with the virus died within just eight days, which the researchers noted was a surprisingly rapid death rate.
GX_P2V infected the lungs, bones, eyes, trachea and brains of mice, and was severe enough to eventually cause the animals to die.
In the days before their death, the mice lost weight rapidly, showed a hunched posture, and moved very slowly. Most bizarre of all, their eyes turned completely white the day before they died.
Although this study is terrifying, it is the first of its kind to report a 100 percent mortality rate in mice infected with the virus associated with COVID-19, far exceeding previously reported results from another study, the researchers wrote.
What is more dangerous is that the results of the study do not indicate the extent of its impact on humans.
François Balloux, an epidemiologist at the Institute of Genetics at University College London, criticized the research as “horrible and completely scientifically useless.” He continued, “I cannot see anything of vague importance to be learned from infecting a strange strain of humanized mice with a random virus.” . “On the contrary, I could see how much could go wrong,” he continued. “The preprint does not specify the level of biosafety and biosafety precautions used in the research.”
Richard Ebright, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University, supported Ballocks’ concerns with one word: “I agree.”
During the summer, American intelligence agencies did not find any direct evidence that the Chinese laboratory had leaked the Corona virus, and the origin of Covid-19 remains unclear, but international security authorities linked it to the Chinese Wuhan laboratory.
“Arabic”
