The hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic can originate from the Wuhan Institute of Virology is of great interest to the world. (Photo: CNN) Where is the “birthplace of COVID-19”? The laboratories at the Wuhan Institute of Virology are classified as the safest, or biosafety level 4 (BSL4). They are formulated to control dangerous bacteria and viruses that can cause serious diseases for which there is no cure or vaccine. The researchers here are all well-trained professionals and equipped with protective gear. “ The laboratory is equipped with an HVAC feeder system so viruses cannot escape through the exhaust, all wastes are treated with chemicals or high temperatures to ensure that no (pathogens) are still active. dynamic “, said Dr. Gregory Koblentz at George Mason University. In addition to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, there are still 59 similar scientific research institutions in the world. Meanwhile, there are no international standards specifying the level of safety, security and responsibility in the preservation of disease-carrying specimens at these facilities. The possibility of problems in these labs is entirely possible. This rate is even higher for the thousands of lower-level laboratories than the Wuhan research facilities scattered around the world. The laboratories at the Wuhan Institute of Virology are classified as the safest. (Photo: CNN) Man-made disaster A prime example of a disaster stemming from a laboratory accident is the human H1N1 virus. After the terrible pandemic of 1918, in 1977, the H1N1 epidemic once again leaked from the laboratories of the Soviet Union and China, then spread all over the world. In 2001, a mentally disturbed employee of a scientific laboratory in the US spread anthrax spores across the country, killing five people. In 2004, two Chinese researchers exposed to the SARS virus became the source of infection, one of the infected people died. In 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration discovered that some samples carried smallpox at risk of being released. Lynn Klotz, a senior fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Nuclear Nonproliferation, warned that scientific labs have posed many public health threats in history. history, and a similar situation is likely to repeat itself in the future. “ Human error accounts for more than 70% of laboratory incidents “, said Mr. Klotz. A prime example of a disaster stemming from a laboratory accident is the human H1N1 virus. Is Wuhan bat research dangerous? GOF research involves editing pathogens to make them more contagious, more dangerous, or easier to evade vaccines and treatments, all with the aim of improving measures against these pathogens. this disease. GOF has long been an area of ​​intense controversy. The US government, the largest funder of research on the link between COVID-19 and bats in Wuhan, disagrees with several independent scientists. They could not agree on whether this work should be classified as a GOF study. Epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch expressed concern about studying the SARS-CoV-2 virus in bats: I am afraid that it will create a new strain of virus that, although not deadly if infected by the laboratory staff, will cause a new pandemic.” . “ This research is unnecessary and does not contribute to drug or vaccine development ‘, said Professor Richard Ebright at Rutgers University, a longtime GOF expert. The US government also banned GOF research in 2014. The ban was relaxed in 2017, under which some cases will be considered to be allowed to operate based on the application of the research. However, the review process has been criticized as lacking transparency and unreliable. Leading US health experts Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health have denied the research on COVID-19 and Wuhan bats is of the GOF category, but independent scientists disagree with this. their statement. The US government is the largest funder of research on the link between COVID-19 and bats in Wuhan. (Photo: AP) There is currently no clear scientific evidence on whether the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic leaked from a laboratory. However, there is some indirect evidence in favor of this hypothesis: Wuhan is only about 1,600 km north of the bat cave containing the SARS-CoV-2 virus, scientists from Wuhan are also known to often frequent visits to bat caves to take samples. Alina Chan, an expert in molecular biology at the Broad Institute, said the SARS-CoV-2 virus does not grow quickly after infecting people. This is one of the signs that the virus came from the lab. Ms. Chan added that the research on the SARS-CoV-2 virus will not be abandoned even after the pandemic ends. On the contrary, this study can be further extended in the future.

Professor Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said the scientists signed a letter published in the journal Science to call for the attention of the scientific community. “What we’re saying is that the available evidence doesn’t rule out a laboratory origin of COVID-19, nor does it rule out a natural origin. And there’s really no solid evidence either. It’s just that. There’s quite a bit of evidence lacking right now, and we’re calling for it to be addressed because it’s such an important question,” said Prof. Meanwhile, the Business Standard on May 29 said that since last year, Professor Angus Dalgleish (British) and Norwegian scientist Birger Sorensen have come to a conclusion about the possibility that “the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated from To confirm their position, the two scientists published a 22-page paper in the journal Biophysical Discovery, explaining that, in the course of their research Researching the vaccine, they discovered “special traces” that the virus was not of natural origin.The clue was a row of four amino acids, which generate a positive charge and bind to negative human cells. . “The law of nature is that you can’t have four positive amino acids in a row. The only way to have this is to make it yourself,” commented Professor Angus Dalgleish. The article by these two scientists also affirms: “We now have no doubt that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was purposefully manipulated, forcing us to reconsider the We think there are retro-engineered viruses. They changed the virus, then tried to figure it out in sequence years ago. We’ve seen leaks. We know it’s happening in the lab, and we know it’s happening. We also know from the reports we’ve found that the coronavirus is studied in Biosafety Level 2 or 3 laboratories.” Both scientists are respected experts: Prof Angus Dalgleish is a professor of oncology in London known for his groundbreaking work on HIV vaccines while Birger Sorensen is a virologist and president of Immunor Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a COVID-19 vaccine called Biovacc-19. On May 26, US President Joe Biden ordered the country’s intelligence community to unravel the conspiracy theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese laboratory and must provide an answer within 90 days. Doubts Apparently, the hypothesis that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could be the result of a scientific experiment has heated up the debate among scientists about the operation of the safest biological laboratories in the world today. . The Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is suspected of leaking the virus, is a virology research institute managed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Located in Jiangxia District, Wuhan, Hubei, Wuhan Institute of Virology has China’s first biosafety level 4 (BSL – 4) laboratory and has close relations with the National Laboratory. Galveston in the US, the Center International de Recherche en Infectiologie in France, and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Canada. Gregory Koblentz, director of Biodefense Graduate, revealed that BSL-4 is built to work safely and securely against the most dangerous bacteria and viruses that can cause serious illnesses for which there is no treatment or vaccine. : “There’s an HVAC filtration system, so viruses can’t escape through the exhaust. Any wastewater that leaves the facility is treated with chemicals or high temperatures to ensure that nothing remains alive. The researchers themselves are highly trained and wear protective clothing.” Statistics show that there are 59 BSL-4s around the world but there are no binding international standards for safe, confidential and responsible work with pathogens. The report, Mapping Maximum Biological Containment Labs Globally, shows that accidents can happen, sometimes in top-tier facilities, and more often in lower-level labs. For example, the human H1N1 virus – the same flu that caused the 1918 pandemic, was leaked in 1977 in the Soviet Union (former) and China. In 2001, a mentally disturbed employee at a US laboratory sent anthrax spores across the country, killing five people. Two Chinese researchers exposed to SARS in 2004 spread the disease to others, resulting in one death. In 2014, a handful of vials of smallpox were discovered during an office move by the US Food and Drug Administration. Lynn Klotz, a senior scientist at the Centers for Non-Proliferation and Control, has been sounding the alarm for years about the public safety threats posed by such facilities. “Human error accounts for more than 70% of errors in laboratories, adding that US researchers must rely on data from freedom of information requests to learn about incidents.” hey,” Lynn Klotz said. These incidents do not mean that COVID-19 has leaked from a laboratory and the fact that there is no scientific evidence to support the scenario yet, said molecular biologist Richard Ebright of Rutgers University. laboratory accident for this pandemic.