photo #9425205

WELL, WELL, WELL . . . Who got the "BioLabs" now? We kid. A bit. The fatal pneumonia has not yet been confirmed to be Black Death, but the Russian authorities Have denied it - which, so far, has tended to serve as a pretty good countrary indicator. Certainly the international medical community seems to be taking the identity of the pathogen for granted. Try to remember this whenever you hear some Russo-fascist apologist citing the existence of "bio labs" in Ukraine: Most of the world (including the US) maintains such laboratories for epidemiological surviellance. This is doubly true of regions where zoonotic reservoirs produce episodic outbreaks, like India - and Central ASIA. Here's an old pro, one of many who blew the whistle (in a thoroughly academic way) re Covid, holding forth on the topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmfggRd1_Qg