Wuhan Institute’s Coronavirus Leak Theory is Possible, US Lab Investigation

A report prepared by a prestigious American laboratory found plausible the theory of a leak from the Wuhan laboratory as the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported on Tuesday on the Wall Street newspaper.

The survey was conducted in May 2020 by the California National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore and gained new relevance ahead of President Joe Biden’s order to promote investigations into the coronavirus hypothesis. The report, according to WSJ, had already been taken into account by Donald Trump’s government to explore this possibility.

According to sources consulted by the WSJ, The study was carried out on the basis of the genomic analysis of the SARS-COV-2 virus, by “Division Z”, the intelligence area of ​​the laboratory, which has extensive experience in biological issues.. Among the conclusions of the classified document, the need to continue investigating the situation around the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Five months later, the study was handed over to the State Department, which requested more information. At that time, the main hypothesis pointed to a zoonotic origin of transmission from a bat to an intermediate animal and from the latter to a human, but in recent weeks the theory of a laboratory leak has been reinforced.

Although some prominent scientists have called for further investigation of the laboratory hypothesis in recent months, many scientists continue to insist that natural spread remains the most likely explanation.

China, which is fiercely trying to reject the laboratory’s hypothesis, has accused Washington of disseminating “conspiracy theories” and has denied American media information about the hospitalization of researchers in Wuhan.

In May, Biden asked U.S. intelligence services to produce a 90-day report on the origin of COVID-19.

In order to predict and prevent future pandemics, researchers must find the source of the viruses that cause them. It is not a simple task. The origin of HIV was not clear until 20 years after its spread around the world. Scientists still do not know the origin of Ebola, even though it has been the cause of periodic epidemics since the 1970s.

Earlier this month, Anthony Fauci, a U.S. infectious disease expert, asked China to release the medical records of nine people whose diseases could provide vital clues as to whether COVID-19 has first emerged following a leak in a laboratory.

Separately, Mike Ryan, a senior official with the World Health Organization, said on Monday that the WHO cannot force China to release more data on the origins of COVID-19, while adding that it propose the studies necessary to gain an understanding of it. where the virus is coming from on the “next level”.

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