Covid-Like Virus Was
Sent to Wuhan in 2013, Sunday Times Says
Sent to Wuhan in 2013, Sunday Times Says
By Thomas Seal
July 5, 2020, 4:32 PM GMT+1
The P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in
Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on April 17.
Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on April 17.
Virus samples sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology seven
years ago closely resemble Covid-19, according to a report in the Sunday Times
that highlights unanswered questions about the origins of the global pandemic.
years ago closely resemble Covid-19, according to a report in the Sunday Times
that highlights unanswered questions about the origins of the global pandemic.
Scientists in 2013
sent frozen samples to the Wuhan lab from a bat-infested former copper mine in
southwest China after six men who had
been clearing out bat feces there contracted a severe pneumonia, the
newspaper said.
sent frozen samples to the Wuhan lab from a bat-infested former copper mine in
southwest China after six men who had
been clearing out bat feces there contracted a severe pneumonia, the
newspaper said.
Three of them died and the most likely cause was a
coronavirus transmitted from a bat, the Sunday Times reported, citing a
medic whose supervisor worked in the emergency department that treated the men.
The same mine in Yunnan province was subsequently studied by Shi Zhengli, an
expert in SARS-like coronaviruses of bat origins at the Wuhan Institute of
Virology.
coronavirus transmitted from a bat, the Sunday Times reported, citing a
medic whose supervisor worked in the emergency department that treated the men.
The same mine in Yunnan province was subsequently studied by Shi Zhengli, an
expert in SARS-like coronaviruses of bat origins at the Wuhan Institute of
Virology.
Shi, nicknamed “bat
woman” for her expeditions in bat caves, described Covid-19 in a February
2020 paper, saying it was 96.2% similar to a coronavirus sample named
RaTG13 obtained in Yunnan in 2013. The Sunday Times said RaTG13 is “almost
certainly” the virus that was found in the abandoned mine.
woman” for her expeditions in bat caves, described Covid-19 in a February
2020 paper, saying it was 96.2% similar to a coronavirus sample named
RaTG13 obtained in Yunnan in 2013. The Sunday Times said RaTG13 is “almost
certainly” the virus that was found in the abandoned mine.
China’s ‘Bat Woman’ Warns Coronavirus Is Just Tip of the
Iceberg
Iceberg
The differences between the samples may still represent
decades’ worth of evolutionary distance, according to dissenting scientists
cited in the article. The Sunday Times said the Wuhan lab did not respond to
its questions.
decades’ worth of evolutionary distance, according to dissenting scientists
cited in the article. The Sunday Times said the Wuhan lab did not respond to
its questions.
In May, the director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology said
there was no live copy of the RaTG13 virus in the lab, so it would have been impossible
for it to leak. There is no evidence the lab was the source of the global
outbreak that began in Wuhan. But U.S. President Donald Trump claimed in May
he’d seen proof of the theory, contradicting intelligence services.
there was no live copy of the RaTG13 virus in the lab, so it would have been impossible
for it to leak. There is no evidence the lab was the source of the global
outbreak that began in Wuhan. But U.S. President Donald Trump claimed in May
he’d seen proof of the theory, contradicting intelligence services.
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