‘Fake Ebola’ virus that can kill you in just three days created in Chinese lab

Chinese scientists have engineered a new virus, similar to Ebola, that can prove fatal in as little as three days. Researchers at Hebei Medical University replicated elements of the deadly virus which caused devastation in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, with the aim of studying its effects.

The team utilised a virus known as vesicular stomatitis and modified it to carry the glycoprotein (GP) from the Ebola virus, publishing their findings in Science Direct. They tested on a group of hamsters, injecting them with the engineered virus, which soon led to severe symptoms akin to those of human Ebola patients, including organ failure.

Some hamsters even developed scabs over their eyeballs, impairing their vision. “It is a sign that 3-week-old Syrian hamsters infected with the virus have the possibility of playing a role in the study of optic nerve disorders caused by EVD,” researchers were quoted in Science Direct.

When they examined the organs of the deceased hamsters, they found that the lethal virus had spread throughout their bodies. Traces were discovered in the heart, spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, intestines and brain tissues, with the highest levels in the liver.

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The researchers stated that their study offered “medical countermeasures against Ebola,” reports the Daily Star.

“Overall, this surrogate model represents a safe, effective, and economical tool for rapid preclinical evaluation of medical countermeasures against EBOV (Ebola virus) under BSL-2 conditions, which would accelerate technological advances and breakthroughs in confronting Ebola virus disease,” the researchers were quoted as saying by Science Direct.

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