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Hong Kong Due to Implement Prospective SARS Vaccine on
Animals
27 May 2003
by Anai Rhoads
Veriana
Media
A potential vaccine for SARS is currently underway in Hong Kong and China.
Testing the
vaccine is controversial in the vegan community, and rightfully so.
Microbiologists plan to test the safety and efficiency of the vaccine on live
animals. Although
SARS is quickly becoming a threat in China, alternatives for experimentation
are available that
could exclude animals from being harmed.
SARS infected more than 8,200 people so far around the world and has
claimed 729 lives
since it made its appearance last November in China. The fear of contracting
and spreading SARS
has caused a panic world-wide.
Monkeys are currently being prepared to be injected with the vaccine. The
animal rights community
already preparing to protest the upcoming experiments.
The cultured SARS virus will be inactivated and injected into the monkey to see
if the primate
is able to produce antibodies.
It is unknown how long the research will take to produce results. The race is on
and the
world community is encouraging a cure from scientists and experts around the
world. Microbiologists
in Hong Kong expect this to be a long process and a cure may be farther off
than most realise.
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