Scientists in Communist China have engineered a deadly mutant strain of the Ebola virus, according to reports.
The Chinese scientists revealed that lab tests of the new strain killed a group of hamsters.
The mutant strain was developed by a team of researchers at Hebei Medical University.
The team used a contagious disease of livestock and added a protein found in Ebola.
The Ebola protein allows the virus to infect cells and spread throughout the human body.
The group of hamsters that received the lethal injection “developed severe systemic diseases similar to those observed in human Ebola patients,” the study shared.
The symptoms triggered by the virus included “multi-organ failure.”
One particularly horrific symptom saw the infected hamsters develop secretions in their eyes.
The secretion impaired their vision and scabbed over the surface of the eyeballs
The researchers claim their goal was to find the right animal models that can safely mimic Ebola symptoms in a lab setting.
However, the experiment may spark fears of another lab leak.
The study suggested that infected hamsters could be a decent model for studying the spread and treatment of Ebola in the future.
Ebola needs to be handled in special high-security Biosafety