17-04-2003 07:06									#1
	SARS pathogen confirmed Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

A new strain of coronavirus is confirmed to cause SARS:

quote: GENEVA -- Today, the World Health Organization announced that a new pathogen, a member of the coronavirus family never before seen in humans, is the cause of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The speed at which this virus was identified is the result of the close international collaboration of 13 laboratories from 10 countries. While many lines of evidence have found strong associations between this virus and the disease over the last weeks, final confirmation came today.

WHO website

	17-04-2003 07:10									#2
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Pretty soon American Pharamaceutical companies will release their new wonder-drug SarSbegone and extort people in the name of Capitalism!

	17-04-2003 07:20									#3
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socialist!

=D

	17-04-2003 07:22									#4
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I'm waiting for the attacks on China. "blyyaaahhh it's a leftist conspiracy"

	17-04-2003 09:34									#5
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quote: Originally posted by Sava I'm waiting for the attacks on China. "blyyaaahhh it's a leftist conspiracy"

About a week ago a top Tussian biologist (with former goverment position) opined that SARS was the result an accidental release of a bio-egineer weapon by the chineese. I have not heard that anywhere else.

	17-04-2003 09:37									#6
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If it is a bio-weapon it isnt a very good one, not nearly contageous enough. This either proves that that top Russian scientist is an idiot, or that the Chinese are incompetent. Either way is fine.

	17-04-2003 09:41									#7
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Apparently Health Canada has its doubts. Sars association with the coronavirus is weak in Canadian cases, and animals innoculated with the coronavirus they did find in some cases remained healthy (unlike similar tests elsewhere).

	17-04-2003 09:43									#8
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There are other microbes found too. The Chinese found some sort of bateria earlier, and the local CU isolated another kind of viruses. The current explanation is the coronavirus causes the illness, these other beasties make it worse.

	17-04-2003 09:44									#9
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quote: Originally posted by Jarvin If it is a bio-weapon it isnt a very good one, not nearly contageous enough. This either proves that that top Russian scientist is an idiot, or that the Chinese are incompetent. Either way is fine.

Silly man. It is a campaign of misinformation.

	17-04-2003 18:31									#10
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quote: Originally posted by Sava I'm waiting for the attacks on China. "blyyaaahhh it's a leftist conspiracy"

Are the rumors true that the Chinese created this virus and now it has gotten out of control?

	17-04-2003 21:16									#11
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Well, I don't want to die.

	18-04-2003 01:20									#12
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It's not genetically engineered. My mom's company is researching the disease right now.

	18-04-2003 07:27									#13
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Sava's mom is on the case. I feel safer already. Sava, this makes you Apolyton's foremost authority on the subject. Keep us informed!

	18-04-2003 11:06									#14
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quote: Originally posted by DaShi Are the rumors true that the Chinese created this virus and now it has gotten out of control?

Yeah. A couple of elementary school kids were messing around with genetic engineering but forgot to destroy the viruses afterwards.

Bad, bad kids.

	18-04-2003 16:22									#16
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quote: Originally posted by Lancer Sava's mom is on the case. I feel safer already. Sava, this makes you Apolyton's foremost authority on the subject. Keep us informed!

Sorry that members of my family are directly involved in this story instead of sitting on their ass watching FoxNews.

	18-04-2003 17:23									#17
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ive taken a liking to walking around and coughing then saying "Damn SARS, i wonder if ill get any worse" in public mind you.

	18-04-2003 17:39									#18
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A collegue of mine (an MD so not too up on actual science) in infectious disease who has the office beside me has also 'wondered whether SARS was a bioterrorist plot'. I managed to refrain from calling him an idiot while pointing out how unlikely it is.

Sava, I have some expertise in this field but I have no idea how you can make that claim. Unless the molecular biologists making the new strain decide to leave markers of their work I cant think of any way to differentiate a natural recombination event (as this probably was) from one done in a lab.

	18-04-2003 17:43									#19
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From what I have been told, the pathogen's DNA is too complex for someone to fine tune it. It's possible, but extremely unlikely that the DNA was modified in such a way to make it a weapon. One would have had to map the Genome, then find out which combinations of DNA gave it it's properties. Pathogens like these mutate all the time. Again it's possible, but I've been told I have a better chance of winning the lottery.

	18-04-2003 17:43									#20
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Wow, only took two posts to turn this into yet another Bash America thread. UR, congrats on your restraint in the first post.

	18-04-2003 17:46									#21
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Who's DL are you again?

Not Bash-America... bash American Pharmaceutical companies. These companies don't hold the same values of freedom, democracy, and rule of law. Nice try though.

	18-04-2003 17:48									#22
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The best reason not to believe its engineered is simply that it's not very effective. 4% lethality is not high enough for a bio-weapon.

	18-04-2003 17:51									#23
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What's with the DL thing, Sava? That's like three times now. Give it up or at least find a different emoticon to post.

Are there no French, German, British, Canadian or Russia phamaceutical companies? Or are the only evil ones American?

	18-04-2003 19:08									#24
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American companies are the worst... although I bashed the German "Bayer" in my Halliburton thread. BTW I jokingly call you a DL because you are a settler with a join date of Feb 2003. OT posters that suddenly appear and don't post in the on-topic forums are always suspect and subject to DL accusations.

	18-04-2003 19:12									#25
	Did somebody snow you? Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote: Originally posted by Sava From what I have been told, the pathogen's DNA is too complex for someone to fine tune it.

The virus has RNA, not DNA.

	18-04-2003 19:15									#26
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OK. I actually did spend my first few weeks in the on-topic world but this place sucked me in quickly. I also just recently discovered that most of my 86 posts don't count because they are here! Foul, say I!

Perhaps I kneejerked about the anti-American thing. It's a popular sport around here apparently.

	18-04-2003 19:17									#27
	Re: Did somebody snow you? Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger The virus has RNA, not DNA.

wouldn't be the first time...

	19-04-2003 17:34									#28
	SARS, Look at me Increase Your PM Length

In respirator I believe.