How do we keep labs that handle dangerous pathogens safe and leak-free? Dig into the ongoing debate over virology research.

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Since the 1970s, researchers have engineered superbugs. While this research could help us prepare for future outbreaks, the stakes of this work are extremely high: if even one dangerous virus escaped a lab, it could cause a global pandemic. So, what can we do to minimize risk? And is the knowledge gained even worth the risk in the first place? Dig into the ongoing debate over virology research.

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View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happens-if-an-engineered-virus-escapes-the-lab
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happens-if-an-engineered-virus-escapes-the-lab#digdeeper

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While the origin of the new Coronavirus is not yet known, we do know where new viruses normally come from. Hint: Darwin’s theory of evolution is full of clues!

In this animation you will get a crash course in virology. You’ll learn how viruses differ from other microbes, why most viruses can only infect one type of host organism, and how viruses evolve to infect new hosts.

For more information on evolution, visit https://www.statedclearly.com/

For more information on the idea that this virus may have come from a lab, see our article here: https://www.statedclearly.com/articles/did-the-new-coronavirus-came-from-a-lab/

For an excellent and accurate Q&A about the coronavirus, including things about how it is treated and how to stay safe, see this video by Dr. Ines Dawson. It’s long but don’t worry, in the video description she has a table of contents. Click the question you care about and it will jump right to that spot in the video! https://youtu.be/oA8XYSftmtQ

Further Reading:
Overview of how new viruses evolve during spillover events
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2546865/

SARS coronavirus seems to have gone from bats to civets to people https://www.who.int/ith/diseases/sars/en/

RNA recombination as a source of genetic novelty in coronaviruses: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC241489/pdf/jvirol00041-0423.pdf

How recombination and reassortment work:
https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro2614

Recombination in single stranded RNA viruses
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3324781/

The evolution of SARS and a prediction that new coronaviruses will evolve in the future
https://jvi.asm.org/content/84/7/3134

How coronaviruses enter cells via binding and endocytosis: https://jvi.asm.org/content/92/3/e01933-17
https://www.nature.com/articles/cr200815

How we stopped the SARS coronavirus
https://www.cdc.gov/about/history/sars/timeline.htm

Pangolins as a potential intermediate host
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00364-2

Corrections:
In the animation I call the virus COVID-19, but this is technically incorrect. COVID-19 is the name of the disease it causes. The virus itself is called SARS CoV 2. Thanks to YouTube user “Charles Starbuck” for pointing out the error.
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China has reported its first human infection with Monkey B Virus (BV). A Beijing-based veterinary surgeon is confirmed as China’s first death from the zoonotic disease. The vet used to work for an institution researching non-human primates. According to reports, the 53-year-old surgeon was infected with the virus after he dissected two dead monkeys in early March. The surgeon started experiencing early symptoms of nausea and vomiting followed by fever and neurological symptoms which eventually took his life on May 27. Researchers collected the cerebrospinal fluid of the veterinarian in April and identified him as positive for BV. All close contacts of the patient are reported to have tested negative for the virus, according to reports from China. Monkey BV, an alphaherpesvirus enzootic in macaques, was initially isolated in 1932. According to China CDC Weekly, the virus is generally transmitted via direct contact and exchange of bodily fluid secretions. Monkey B virus poses a zoonotic threat to primate veterinarians, animal care personnel and laboratory researchers. Reports have asked to keep a close watch on laboratory macaques and occupational workers in China to control further spread.
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ABeijing-based veterinarian, confirmed as China’s first human infection case with Monkey B Virus (BV), has died from the infection, said a Global Times report.

The 53-year-old male vet, who works for an institution researching on non-human primates, was identified with the infection following early-onset symptoms of nausea and vomiting, a month after he dissected two dead monkeys in early March, China CDC Weekly English Platform, a journal of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention had revealed on Saturday.

The journal said that the vet died on May 27, after seeking treatment in several hospitals.

According to the report, since there were reportedly no fatal or even clinically evident BV infections in China before, the vet’s case marks the first human infection case with BV identified in the country.

#News18Live #MonekyVirus #CNNNews18
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