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"Breaches of safety regulations are probable cause of recent SARS outbreak, WHO says"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416634/

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-analysis/sars-escaped-bei...

https://www.voanews.com/archive/who-beijing-lab-blame-sars-o...

Lab breaks of SARS, another coronavirus have happened a number of times, and likely caused the original SARS outbreak (according to WHO)

This regional phenomena happens to be right across the river, 20 miles, next to the only BSL4 level lab in the region.

That same lab also happens to have published hundreds of synthetic coronavirus genomes. They also ran gain of function research that was banned by NIH until recently, due to it's highly questionable ethics and biosafety in principle.

It's just another lab break, why is it so hard to accept that industrial accidents happen?

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Those articles are discussing a 2004 outbreak. The SARS epidemic occurred during 2002-2003.

It is odd, and it could hint that the virus escaped the lab. It could also hint that a foreign power decided to release a pathogen there to disparage the government. It also could just be a coincidence. I don't think it benefits anyone to speculate. We will probably never find out the truth behind it.

They've had enough biosafety incidents to have the WHO themselves call them on it in the past.

SARS, according to WHO, was a lab break too.

What kind of damages would China be liable for 50-60% globally infected, with 3-4% deaths?

That is why the evidence will be suppressed, and the inconvenient voices silenced.

We don't need new drugs.

Outbreaks will continue on happening as long as we have gain of function research programs in place.

They will literally try to come up with new strains resistant to current treatments, if such research continues to be done.

Time for international oversight, just like with nuclear.

We need to stop unethical gain of function research. It should only ever be approved if the outbreak can be actually contained and victims treated - with monetary penalties in place for consequences.

Leaving aside the stuff about biological research, the idea that a country can be liable for damages in Western (or any other) courts is just bizarre.

Will US pay Vietnam for its liberation efforts, or UK pay India for bringing culture to it?

Original SARS outbreak was zoonotic, not a lab escape, and SARS-CoV-2 very likely is, too. It is an odd coincidence that it appeared to start near a research lab which contained SARS samples, but maybe the lab was created in that area in the first place due to it being a region full of biological diversity, including among viruses?

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