Leemour t1_ir0u36i wrote
Reply to comment by fish_whisperer in An obscure family of viruses, already endemic in wild African primates and known to cause fatal Ebola-like symptoms in some monkeys, is “poised for spillover” to humans, according to a new research by giuliomagnifico
I remember watching an interview with a virologist and he said that they often go to wild forests, jungles and other uninhabited areas where they are most likely to find new viral mutations. They collect, catalog and study these viruses, so if they spill over to human populations the search for a vaccine/cure would be fast.
IIRC Corona viruses were cataloged decades ago, before COVID, they just had to change some things for higher efficacy and the mRNA technology just made vaccines cheaper to manufacture and we were able to dispense a lot very quickly.
Goatmanish t1_ir2uhze wrote
Human infecting coronaviruses have been known since the 60s, the thing is they mostly cause the common cold (along with literally hundreds of other viruses) so they weren't a cause for concern until SARS.
Strazdas1 t1_ir4hxyy wrote
And SARS burned out so fast noone actually developed countermeasures. Even Canada that was more effected and had some medical stocpiles done by law have stopped that after 5 years and therefore wasnt prepared for SARS2.
Strazdas1 t1_ir4hvo7 wrote
Coranaviruses is not a new grouup of viruses, there were many other cornaviruses and some even had breakouts (though nothing on that scale). Most of them have evolved to low-to-none symptoms which is why we expected this virus to do the same.
[deleted] t1_ir10usb wrote
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