When I was a moderator of PFI_Forum, one of my self-appointed duties was to knock down stupid conspiracy theories. There are many on the internet. There are some today regarding the origin of the Wuhan virus. But just because stupid conspiracy theories exist doesn’t mean we should assume the Wuhan virus is a product of nature.
Let me say at the outset that I have absolutely no information suggesting that the Wuhan virus is anything other than a product of nature. On the other hand, it would not surprise me at all if it turned out it did escape from a lab. At this point, we simply don’t know where it came from.
Is there any reason to think that China is doing research on viruses in order to create biological weapons? Yes there is. And we don’t need to go to stupid conspiracy sites for the evidence.
From: Chinese researcher escorted from infectious disease lab amid RCMP investigation, CBC, July 14, 2019, Karen Pauls
A researcher with ties to China was recently escorted out of the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg amid an RCMP investigation into what’s being described as a possible “policy breach.”
Dr. Xiangguo Qiu, her husband Keding Cheng and an unknown number of her students from China were removed from Canada’s only level-4 lab on July 5, CBC News has learned.
A Level 4 virology facility is a lab equipped to work with the most serious and deadly human and animal diseases. That makes the Arlington Street lab one of only a handful in North America capable of handling pathogens requiring the highest level of containment, such as Ebola.
[snip]
Qiu is a medical doctor from Tianjin, China, who came to Canada for graduate studies in 1996. She is still affiliated with the university there and has brought in many students over the years to help with her work.
Currently head of the Vaccine Development and Antiviral Therapies section in the Special Pathogens Program at the lab, Qiu’s primary field is immunology. Her research focuses on vaccine development, post-exposure therapeutics and rapid diagnostics of viruses like Ebola.
She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Manitoba.
Cheng also works at the lab as a biologist. He has published research papers on HIV infections, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), E. coli infections and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome.
[snip]
“The National Microbiology Laboratory would have some pretty sensitive biological research material that … could be shared either with or without authorization with foreign countries,” said Gordon Houlden, director of the University of Alberta’s China Institute.
“All of this is unproven, but even microbiology, sometimes especially microbiology, can have issues that involve national security.”
From: Questions Surround Canadian Shipment of Deadly Viruses to China, The Scientist, August 9, 2019, Nicoletta Lanese
Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory shipped Ebola and Henipah viruses to Beijing on March 31, raising suspicions from experts in biochemical warfare, who say they think China may use the pathogens to develop offensive biological agents.
[snip]
The same lab is the focus of an ongoing investigation by the RCMP. The inquiry began following the recent dismissal of the head of the National Microbiology Laboratory’s (NML) Vaccine Development and Antiviral Therapies section in the Special Pathogens Program, virologist Xiangguo Qiu. Qiu, her colleague and husband Keding Cheng, and a number of her international students lost security clearance to their lab on July 5.
[snip]
China agreed to the Biological Weapons Convention in 1984, but both academics and government agencies have recently asserted that the country is a world leader in bio-weapon production, according to the Edmonton Journal.
“I would say this Canadian ‘contribution’ might likely be counterproductive. I think the Chinese activities . . . are highly suspicious, in terms of exploring [at least] those viruses as BW [biological warfare] agents,” says Dany Shoham, a biological and chemical warfare expert at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, in an interview with the Edmonton Journal.
Wuhan has China’s only BSL 4 laboratory, like the one in Winnipeg. So, the only lab in China that can safely handle the Wuhan virus is in Wuhan. Now, this could be an incredible coincidence. Such things do happen. But I do not think it is irresponsible to ask about the types of SARS-like viruses researchers at the Wuhan BSL 4 laboratory were working on when the Wuhan (SARS-like) virus emerged. Wouldn’t such questions be asked if this happened in the US?
Responsible scientists and journalists should slap down stupid conspiracy theories. But we should also not be naive. The “experts” believe that China has an agressive, offensive biological weapons program. Scientists in China have a record of being sloppy with highly dangerous viruses, including SARS. It would be foolish to reflexively reject the possiblity that Wuhan virus is lab escapee just because some nuts say that it is. Sometimes the nuts are right.
Monotreme's Blog 
Yes,fresh and frozen foods for many in the bay area were lost when P G&E turned off power during the fire storm shutoff. It only took as few days for it to go bad, and some were out for well over a week at a time. Dry and canned is the way to go. Also lots of liquids. Keep a t least 1/2 tank gas or electric charge in cars in case you need to relocate. Fire storms were a terrible wake up call this last two years.
KimT – just a thought, but it might be better to store non-perishable foods rather than fresh meat. While we do keep our freezer full, we also keep a good amount of canned protein in the house as well. I’m making up a walmart list (online shopping only!) and it includes things like more rice (is 50# ever really enough?), pasta, beans, etc. Wish I knew (without having to cook any to find out) if the dried beans I’ve had in a plastic tote for about 10 years were still good. I have a bad habit of never throwing anything away until it explodes, so we also have a bunch of canned soups and stews that say they expired several years ago – if we had a dog I didn’t like, it would be a guinea pig, but we love our three pups as if they were children.
I had the same problem with my preps, I let some expire. I moved two years ago and that was a huge headache but it did make me go through everything. It was a mess, I was totally disorganized.
I have lots of canning jars and supplies and most of the meat and dear meat can be canned rather quickly on the propane stove. I keep canned meats available all the time, and just made a trip to Aldies a month ago and stocked up on veggies.
I just have one dog now, she gets homemade food as she gets hives & itches if she eats any thing that has dyes in it. Its basically different types of meats, veggies, fruits, rice or oats made into a doggy meatloaf. Her arthritis is better since I started doing that this year. She still tries to eat the cat food though.
Two weeks doesn’t seem sufficient in this case.
I was just talking with my sister, the only one I talk with about this kind of thing and told her to have a minimum a month. In reality she probably has a month of food supplies without a problem, but told her the store was having a bogo on some meat, ribs..and they are going tomorrow to get some. I went yesterday. Picked up some fresh yeast, flour, eggs, basic baking things.
I saw someone post that they saw an article I think it was a Europe paper that said the lab sold lab animals to the market that is supposedly the starting point of this virus. I didn’t follow up and research to see if that was true or not.
I got married two years ago and honey mooned in Vegas at Christmas/NY time. Lots, and I mean thousands of Chinese there just in the hotel we stayed in. I would think Vegas which hasn’t been mentioned could be a hot spot to look for spike in cases.
Monotreme, thank you. You have validated some thoughts I had about possible origins, reasons and strategies. Meantime, more information from western patients should lead to reliable R0, death rate, and treatment protocols over the next couple of days.
Meantime, I was thinking that personal behaviors I should adopt would be those we had for SARS, the last corona virus outbreak … hygiene, handwashing, face mask in crowds, conscious surfaces contact (that includes purse/briefcase, shoes) and liberal use of high alcohol hand sanitizer. Really, the same behaviors we already should have anywhere to avoid flu, resistant bacteria, etc. and etc.
Also looking to refresh our ‘earthquake’ supplies — 2 weeks of water, food, meds, warmth, supplies we keep if there is a sudden area disaster like earthquake, power outage, regional fire. Or area quarantine.
Anything else practical we should think of?
Again, thanks for opening this up. I’ve missed PFI and ‘old yellow’ for some time.