Coronavirus as a (possible) form of biological warfare [SPLIT]

[mcbrion]

Interesting that nobody's mentioning this as a (possible) form of biological warfare.

How many cases does Russia have? 5. And they border China. Just a thought...

 

[Telstra]

Re: 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Interesting that nobody's mentioning this as a (possible) form of biological warfare.

How many cases does Russia have? 5. And they border China. Just a thought...

any details? Biological warfare is a big big claim.

 

[KaraBulut]

Re: Political Implications of the Cornavirus [SPLIT]

Interesting that nobody's mentioning this as a (possible) form of biological warfare.

How many cases does Russia have? 5. And they border China. Just a thought...

Russia has two cases.

Keep in mind that most cases that are outside of Italy, Iran, China and South Korea have some connection to those 4 countries- generally related to travel. We're only now seeing community-acquired cases outside of those 4 countries that can't be connected to those 4 countries.

There are some weird geographic patterns that are developing. The virus hasn't really affected northern countries to the same degree as it has affected areas with milder climates. It's really along a belt that extends from the Mediterranean, across India and into China. There are very few cases in Scandinavia, northern Canada and Russia. It's not clear whether this is related to travel patterns to/from China, the low population densities in Arctic areas or whether there's something about the virus that inhibits spread in extremely cold climates.

Another weird epidemiological pattern: not a lot of children are showing up in the statistics. It's not clear whether children just get a mild case or whether there's something unique about the virus that affects adults more.

Generally with biological warfare agents, the goal would be to either target able bodied people (i.e. soldiers) or to take out large segments of the population. A 2% mortality rate that is affecting older people wouldn't be a good warfare agent.

 

[mcbrion]

Re: Political Implications of the Cornavirus [SPLIT]

^^^^

Cleary saw "5" followed by "all the cases have been reported contained." No matter... Given how close they are to the China's border, I thought it interesting, since China was hiding its knowledge of the virus.

As for my post...

That was of the "hmmmm....how come Russia's only reporting 5 cases, all contained?" variety. I have no idea how one would go about creating a biological warfare scenario. Not my field. Just my natural curiosity at work.

 

[mcbrion]

Re: 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

As per Sargeant Schultz; "I know nothing. NOTHING."

I did read that the Germans used biological weapons in WWI. That is as much as I know. But it IS an interesting thought if one's intent is to destabilize economies.

 

[Alistair]

Re: Political Implications of the Cornavirus [SPLIT]

^^^^

Cleary saw "5" followed by "all the cases have been reported contained." No matter... Given how close they are to the China's border, I thought it interesting, since China was hiding its knowledge of the virus.

As for my post...

That was of the "hmmmm....how come Russia's only reporting 5 cases, all contained?" variety. I have no idea how one would go about creating a biological warfare scenario. Not my field. Just my natural curiosity at work.

With 7 leaders in Iran as confirmed cases I thought it more likely the US (trump) was trying to get rid of the Iranian government. He wouldn't care if he took out half of Asia as well.

 

[KaraBulut]

Re: Political Implications of the Cornavirus [SPLIT]

...Cleary saw "5" followed by "all the cases have been reported contained." No matter... Given how close they are to the China's border, I thought it interesting, since China was hiding its knowledge of the virus.

The surveillance tool that I use tracks patients by their current location. Russia has 2 Chinese nationals on Russian soil who were diagnosed with coronavirus. There are 7 Russian nationals who were on the Diamond Princess, 3 of the 7 have tested positive for the virus but aren't in Russia, so those 3 are not being counted as "Russian case" because they are probably still hospitalized in Japan. There are other Russians who are in quarantine in vacation locations outside of Russia.

...That was of the "hmmmm....how come Russia's only reporting 5 cases, all contained?" variety. I have no idea how one would go about creating a biological warfare scenario. Not my field. Just my natural curiosity at work.

The problem with countries like Russia is that it's hard to know whether they are putting out facts or disinformation. The heavily populated areas of Russia are more on the western side of the country which is far away from the current outbreak areas. It's matter of time before Russia has cases.

Biological agents are a gamble because it's difficult to control who is affected. In an agent like anthrax, a bacteria, the illness can be treated with antibiotics and there's little risk of person-to-person transmission since the deadly form of the disease is dependent upon anthrax spores that are inhaled into the lungs. This makes anthrax easier to control but it also means that is has to be directed at specific targets, not large masses of people. With viruses, if there is no vaccine available and the virus can be transmitted from person to person, then it would be very hard to contain an epidemic. This makes viruses very risky as a biological warfare agent.

The conspiracy theories that are making the rounds are looking at conditions today- specifically the Chinese and Iranian cases. What they don't factor in is that the second largest pools of cases are in Italy and South Korea. Iran is a Russian ally. Italy and South Korea are American allies. And with the virus in [STRIKE]49[/STRIKE] 60 countries, it's hard to figure out who would benefit from an epidemic, especially one that is killing older people and people who are chronically ill and don't pose a risk to anyone.

 

[mcbrion]

Re: Political Implications of the Cornavirus [SPLIT]

The surveillance tool that I use tracks patients by their current location. Russia has 2 Chinese nationals on Russian soil who were diagnosed with coronavirus. There are 7 Russian nationals who were on the Diamond Princess, 3 of the 7 have tested positive for the virus but aren't in Russia, so those 3 are not being counted as "Russian case" because they are probably still hospitalized in Japan. There are other Russians who are in quarantine in vacation locations outside of Russia.


The problem with countries like Russia is that it's hard to know whether they are putting out facts or disinformation. The heavily populated areas of Russia are more on the western side of the country which is far away from the current outbreak areas. It's matter of time before Russia has cases.

Biological agents are a gamble because it's difficult to control who is affected. In an agent like anthrax, a bacteria, the illness can be treated with antibiotics and there's little risk of person-to-person transmission since the deadly form of the disease is dependent upon anthrax spores that are inhaled into the lungs. This makes anthrax easier to control but it also means that is has to be directed at specific targets, not large masses of people. With viruses, if there is no vaccine available and the virus can be transmitted from person to person, then it would be very hard to contain an epidemic. This makes viruses very risky as a biological warfare agent.

The conspiracy theories that are making the rounds are looking at conditions today- specifically the Chinese and Iranian cases. What they don't factor in is that the second largest pools of cases are in Italy and South Korea. Iran is a Russian ally. Italy and South Korea are American allies. And with the virus in [STRIKE]49[/STRIKE] 60 countries, it's hard to figure out who would benefit from an epidemic, especially one that is killing older people and people who are chronically ill and don't pose a risk to anyone.

Brilliant point! I'd mused on the movie 'The Infinity War,' where the idea was that there were simply too many sentient beings in the Universe and they must be whittled down by half, with no particular races or species receiving preference, regardless of technological, spiritual, or cosmic significance.

 

[mcbrion]

Re: Political Implications of the Cornavirus [SPLIT]

The surveillance tool that I use tracks patients by their current location. Russia has 2 Chinese nationals on Russian soil who were diagnosed with coronavirus. There are 7 Russian nationals who were on the Diamond Princess, 3 of the 7 have tested positive for the virus but aren't in Russia, so those 3 are not being counted as "Russian case" because they are probably still hospitalized in Japan. There are other Russians who are in quarantine in vacation locations outside of Russia.


The problem with countries like Russia is that it's hard to know whether they are putting out facts or disinformation. The heavily populated areas of Russia are more on the western side of the country which is far away from the current outbreak areas. It's matter of time before Russia has cases.

Biological agents are a gamble because it's difficult to control who is affected. In an agent like anthrax, a bacteria, the illness can be treated with antibiotics and there's little risk of person-to-person transmission since the deadly form of the disease is dependent upon anthrax spores that are inhaled into the lungs. This makes anthrax easier to control but it also means that is has to be directed at specific targets, not large masses of people. With viruses, if there is no vaccine available and the virus can be transmitted from person to person, then it would be very hard to contain an epidemic. This makes viruses very risky as a biological warfare agent.

The conspiracy theories that are making the rounds are looking at conditions today- specifically the Chinese and Iranian cases. What they don't factor in is that the second largest pools of cases are in Italy and South Korea. Iran is a Russian ally. Italy and South Korea are American allies. And with the virus in [STRIKE]49[/STRIKE] 60 countries, it's hard to figure out who would benefit from an epidemic, especially one that is killing older people and people who are chronically ill and don't pose a risk to anyone.

Was just surfing and...will wonders never cease!
Remember I said there were 5 cases of the virus in Russia and our esteemed moderator said "2"?? Turns out I was right...and so was Kara...

From Wikipedia: "2020 coronavirus outbreak in Russia" entry.

"On 31 January, two cases were confirmed, one in Tyumen Oblast, another in Zabaykalsky Krai. Both were Chinese nationals, who have since recovered.[6][1]

On 26 February, three cases were found in people arriving from Diamond Princess in Kazan, Tatarstan.[7]"

And that makes. 5!!! It was just in some newspaper I saw in passing. I was 100% sure, that the article itself said there were 5 cases in Russia. I suppose it doesn't count if you don't let them off the ship, though!

I'm good. I knew I saw 5 cases, even though this is not the article I originally saw that stated there were '...5 cases. All have been contained." I remember, as a once-reporter, the wording of almost any phrase I read, so I knew it said what I had written. (And God forbid I was developing Alzheimer's, like my late dearly-departed mother.)

 

[Kulindahr]

Re: 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Interesting that nobody's mentioning this as a (possible) form of biological warfare.

How many cases does Russia have? 5. And they border China. Just a thought...

But it's a very, very unpopulated border.