{"id":149419,"date":"2022-10-18T12:50:13","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T19:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=149419"},"modified":"2022-10-18T12:50:13","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T19:50:13","slug":"boston-university-neidl-researchers-refute-uk-article-about-deadly-covid-strain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=149419","title":{"rendered":"Boston University NEIDL Researchers Refute UK Article about “Deadly” COVID Strain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boston, MA…Boston University is refuting\u00a0<\/strong>a series of misleading claims about research at the University\u2019s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL). The reports, which first appeared on Monday in the United Kingdom\u2019s\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>, claimed researchers at the lab had \u201ccreated a new deadly COVID strain.\u201d In a statement Monday afternoon, BU called the reporting, which was picked up by other outlets, including\u00a0Fox News<\/em>, \u201cfalse and inaccurate,\u201d and said this research made the virus less dangerous.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Boston University\u2019s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL). Photo by Boston University Photography<\/p>\n

The University also noted that the research was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), which consists of scientists as well as local community members, and that the Boston Public Health Commission had approved the research.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve sensationalized the message, they misrepresent the study and its goals in its entirety,\u201d says\u00a0Ronald B. Corley,<\/a>\u00a0NEIDL director and BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine chair of microbiology, of the news reports.<\/p>\n

The study set out to examine the spike proteins on the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (BA.1). Researchers were interested in comparing the variant with the original virus strain, known as the Washington strain. They wanted to find out if the virus was truly less virulent, says Corley, \u201csimply because it wasn\u2019t infecting the same cells as the initial strain.\u201d They were \u201cinterested in what part of the virus dictates how serious of a disease a person will get.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Corley says the news reports pulled one line from the paper\u2019s abstract out of context, with the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>\u00a0suggesting in its headline that the researchers had created a \u201cdeadly Covid strain with an 80 percent kill rate.\u201d The newspaper went on to make a series of other misleading claims, including that the study was \u201cgain of function research,\u201d alleging researchers set out to make a more deadly virus.<\/p>\n

Not true, says Corley. And the University\u2019s statement strongly denied it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to address the false and inaccurate reporting about Boston University COVID-19 research, which appeared today in the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>,\u201d said the BU statement. \u201cFirst, this research is not gain-of-function research, meaning it did not amplify the Washington state SARS-CoV-2 virus strain or make it more dangerous. In fact, this research made the virus replicate less dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corley says the line pulled out of context actually had nothing to do with the virus\u2019 effect on humans. The study began in a tissue culture, then moved to an animal model.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe animal model that was used was a particular type of mouse that is highly susceptible, and 80 to 100 percent of the infected mice succumb to disease from the original strain, the so-called Washington strain,\u201d says Corley. \u201cWhereas Omicron causes a very mild disease in these animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

That 80 percent number is what the media reports latched onto, misrepresenting the study and its goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a statement taken out of context for the purposes of sensationalism,\u201d says Corley, \u201cand it totally misrepresents not only the findings, but [also] the purpose of the study.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, according to BU\u2019s statement, \u201cthis research mirrors and reinforces the findings of other, similar research performed by other organizations, including the FDA.\u201d That\u2019s supported by one of the lead researchers on the study,\u00a0Mohsan Saeed<\/a>, a NEIDL investigator.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsistent with studies published by others, this work shows that it is not the spike protein that drives Omicron pathogenicity, but instead other viral proteins,\u201d says Saeed, a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine assistant professor of biochemistry. \u201cDetermination of those proteins will lead to better diagnostics and disease management strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stringent Safety Procedures<\/h3>\n

Since its opening in 2009, NEIDL has allowed scientists to study a range of infectious diseases and pathogens in a protected environment. The lab is governed by strict safety procedures. Long before a researcher begins studying a disease or pathogen, their proposal has to go through a series of rigorous safety reviews, says\u00a0Robert Davey<\/a>, a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine professor of microbiology, who is based at the NEIDL.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore anything is done in the NEIDL, it goes through multiple layers of careful safety review and this is done through committees that are part of Boston University and also committees that are outside of, independent of, BU, such as the Boston Public Health Commission,\u201d says Davey. \u201cWe get a completely independent look at anything that\u2019s about to be done. Only after all that is approved and double-checked are you then allowed to proceed with the work. And that work only occurs with the oversight of the environmental health and safety group at BU.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study was conducted in the lab\u2019s\u00a0biosafety-level 3 facilities<\/a>. All studies are conducted in a biosafety cabinet, with researchers having to enter their workspace through a series of interlocked doors. All floors and walls are sealed, and the lab is fitted with sophisticated filtration and decontamination technology. And if the researchers had seen anything untoward during the study, they would have immediately shut it down and reported it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take our safety and security of how we handle pathogens seriously, and the virus does not leave the laboratory in which it\u2019s being studied,\u201d says Corley. \u201cOur whole goal is for the public\u2019s health. And this study was part of that, finding what part of the virus is responsible for causing severe disease. If we can understand that, we can then develop the tools that we need to develop better therapeutics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, this research will provide a public benefit,\u201d according to the University\u2019s statement, \u201cby leading to better, targeted therapeutic interventions to help fight against future pandemics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston University statement on following National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) guidelines:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWe fulfilled all required regulatory obligations and protocols. Following NIAID\u2019s guidelines and protocols, we did not have an obligation to disclose this research for two reasons. The experiments reported in this manuscript were carried out with funds from Boston University. NIAID funding was acknowledged because it was used to help develop the tools and platforms that were used in this research; they did not fund this research directly. NIH funding was also acknowledged for a shared instrumentation grant that helped support the pathology studies. We believe that funding streams for tools do not require an obligation to report. Secondly, there was no gain of function with this research. If at any point there was evidence that the research was gaining function, under both NIAID and our own protocols we would immediately stop and report. All research at Boston University, whether funded by NIAID or not, follows this same protocol. We are in continued conversation with NIAID leadership and program officers.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source = Boston University<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boston, MA…Boston University is refuting\u00a0a series of misleading claims about research at the University\u2019s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL). The reports, which first appeared on Monday in the United Kingdom\u2019s\u00a0Daily Mail, claimed researchers at the lab had \u201ccreated a new deadly COVID strain.\u201d In a statement Monday afternoon, BU called the reporting, which was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,33,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-health-fitness","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Resize-12-5378-BUILDINGS-002-1498x1000-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=149419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149421,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149419\/revisions\/149421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/149420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=149419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=149419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=149419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}