Scientists CREATE deadly virus!!!

[TheOstrich]

... And then today, of course, we get this:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... e-bacteria

Accidents happen / carelessness happens; tomorrow the plague. Ah well, it was in the name of science .....

[Workingman]

I love the way the US authorities were quick to reassure the public that it was only an accident and not security related, as all their people working with live bacteria are 'tier-one' security checked.

It's a good job it was only Anthrax and not something really nasty, eh?

Ah well, I have taken my "Chill pill" so no worries.

[Kaz]

[Suff]

Whilst it might sound trite, the cases are not comparable.

Anthrax is bacterial and we have a cure. This makes it a much lower category than viral diseases for which only a pre inoculated vaccine will protect against. For the viruses they are working on, they don't have.

In the first case the scientists have become blasé with familiarity. In the second they are probably scared to hell most of the time and triple check every procedure. After all, it would be them and their families who would die, horribly, first.

If we ever find an antiviral which actually works, then we may see viral diseases handled in this manner. Until we do, these two cases are likely to remain poles apart.

[pederito1]

I am sure their security precautions are entirely adequate for such research. I read a while ago the details of their efforts to produce a vaccine for Ebola with monkeys which involved level 4 security at a fantastic level. A terrible virus and as yet no positive result, it is very contagious and usually fatal in a few days yet strangely a very few people are apparently immune.
See a new outbreak in West Africa which could be serious but in past cases the virus has weakened in transmission and become self limiting, just hope this happens here too.