Thanks. (BTW, I’m a madam, not a sir. No offense taken at all.) Yes, it looks like they were just working on a PCR template.
Not only that, the Wigan researchers were using a 2003 Congo strain. The cases now occurring are West African clade, which is good as it’s far less dangerous than the Central African clade.
The Chinese have a number of interests in Central Africa, mining operations in the DRC, etc. (Weren’t some Chinese nationals held hostage by bad guys or something at one of the DRC mines not long ago?) Makes sense they would pursue something like this.
Yeah, after smallpox vaccination ceased, median age of monkeypox cases increased right along with median age of unvaccinated. It went from average age of four in the 1970s to early 20s in the past decade. Which is why we’re seeing more of it and it’s being watched as an emergent disease.
Ugh. Spellchecker. Wigan = Wuhan.