To: golfer72 who wrote (5870 ) 8/23/2025 6:51:11 PM From: ig 2 RecommendationsRecommended By
Read Replies (2) | Respond to How come folks keep saying a virus (any virus) has never been isolated? "How come folks keep saying a virus (any virus) has never been isolated?" The claim that "no virus has ever been isolated" often comes from a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of virology and the scientific process. Here's a clear explanation: Viruses, including well-known ones like SARS-CoV-2, influenza, or HIV, have been isolated and studied extensively. In virology, "isolation" means separating a virus from other biological material in a sample (like cells or bacteria) and growing it in a controlled environment, such as cell cultures, to confirm its presence and study its properties. This has been done for countless viruses over decades, with rigorous methods like cell culture, electron microscopy, and genetic sequencing. For example: SARS-CoV-2 : Isolated early in 2020 by multiple labs (e.g., China's CDC, Australia's Doherty Institute). Samples were grown in Vero cells, sequenced, and visualized via electron microscopy. The genetic sequence (RNA) is publicly available, and millions of variants have been tracked. HIV : Isolated in the 1980s by researchers like Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo, with extensive documentation of its structure and behavior. Influenza : Routinely isolated for vaccine development, with strains sequenced annually to track mutations. The confusion arises from a few sources: Misinterpretation of "isolation" : Some claim "isolation" means purifying a virus to 100% free of all other material, which isn't practical or necessary in virology. Viruses often require host cells to replicate, so pure isolation without cells isn't how the process works. Critics exploit this to argue viruses aren't "truly" isolated. Historical skepticism : Early virology (pre-20th century) lacked modern tools, leading to debates about whether viruses existed. Modern techniques like PCR, sequencing, and electron microscopy have long resolved this. Misinformation campaigns : Some groups, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, spread claims that viruses aren't real or haven't been isolated to sow doubt about public health measures. These often cite outdated or misinterpreted studies, like early 20th-century papers or misreadings of modern lab protocols (e.g., the use of "control" samples in PCR testing). Scientific evidence is robust: viruses are isolated, sequenced, and visualized regularly. Peer-reviewed studies, like those in Nature (e.g., Zhu et al., 2020, for SARS-CoV-2 isolation) or Journal of Virology , document this. Claims otherwise usually rely on cherry-picked data or non-expert interpretations of complex lab processes. If you want specifics on a particular virus or study, let me know, and I can dig deeper!
