US releases factsheet on Wuhan Institute of Virology; details 3 elements under scrutiny

The United States Department of State has released a fact sheet of the activity at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. However, the origin of the virus is not yet clear. As per the fact sheet, the department says that the virus could have emerged from human contact with infected animals or through a laboratory accident. The report says, “Scientists in China have researched animal-derived coronaviruses under conditions that increased the risk for accidental and potentially unwitting exposure”. 

Major elements 

The fact sheet highlights three major elements about the COVID-19 virus- Illnesses inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Research at the WIV and Secret military activity at the WIV. The reports revealed that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019. This was before the first outbreak. The reports say that this raises questions about the credibility of WIV senior researcher Shi Zhengli’s public claim that there was “zero infection” among the WIV’s staff and students of SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-related viruses. It also talks about how accidental infections in Chinese labs have contributed to previous virus outbreaks. 

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The reports urged that the WHO investigators must have access to the records of the WIV’s work on bats and other coronaviruses before the COVID-19 outbreak. The team landed in Wuhan after a lot of controversies. After the team landed, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged that there was COVID-like illness among staff at a Chinese virology institute in autumn 2019. In a press statement, the top US Official again blamed Beijing for the outbreak of the deadly virus and urged the WHO to “press the government of China” on the “new information”. The 15-member international team of health experts had arrived in China on Thursday and they are taken with probing into the origins of the lethal coronavirus infection that has killed nearly two billion people across the globe. 

The team also determined that the WIV has collaborated on publications and secret projects with China’s military. The report says, “The WIV has engaged in classified research, including laboratory animal experiments, on behalf of the Chinese military since at least 2017". It added, "The United States and other donors who funded or collaborated on civilian research at the WIV have a right and obligation to determine whether any of our research funding was diverted to secret Chinese military projects at the WIV". 

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Two WHO members test positive 

The unprecedented coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan in late 2019 and since it has infected tens of millions of people across the globe. The Trump administration has repeatedly blamed China for the outbreak with the President routinely calling it the “China Virus”. WHO, on the other hand, has said that establishing the pathway of the virus from animals to humans is essential to preventing future outbreaks. 

Meanwhile, upon arrival in Wuhan, two members of the international team have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. According to WHO, the 15-member team had undergone COVID-19 tests in their home countries prior to leaving for Wuhan, however, upon reaching Singapore, two members of the team tested positive for Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies, but negative for PCR. WHO has said that the two scientists are still in Singapore undergoing tests for COVID-19 for both IgM and IgG antibodies.

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