Virologist: Lab leakage claims pure fabrication
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the target of COVID-19 virus conspiracy theories, did not possess the novel coronavirus before the outbreak, nor did it have the intention or the ability to create the virus, a senior virologist told China Daily on the sidelines of the annual national legislative and political advisory sessions.
Hence the conspiracy theories claiming the virus had escaped the institute’s high biosecurity lab, which was modeled after ones from Europe, are “pure fabrication”, said Yuan Zhiming, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan Branch and head of the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory.
He also made it clear that no pathogen leaks or personnel infection have ever occurred at the lab.
Since the COVID-19 epidemic began, some foreign politicians and media outlets have made accusations with no evidence that the institute’s biosafety level 4 lab, also known as the P4 lab, had manufactured the virus and accidentally released it to the world.
Yuan, who also is a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said such accusations constitute “unwarranted speculation that violates scientific consensus and most importantly, totally contradicts objective facts”.
The institute first received samples of the coronavirus on Dec 30.
On Jan 12, it was one of the entities authorized by the National Health Commission to publish the full genome sequence of the virus to the world, he said.
On Feb 19, The Lancet medical journal published a joint statement by 27 scientists from eight countries concluding that the novel coronavirus had a natural origin. On March 18, a paper published by the journal Nature Medicine, by virologists from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, also stated the coronavirus is “not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus”.
“All analyses of the SARS-CoV-2 genome by global researchers have proved that it is entirely new and is different from already known viruses,” Yuan said. “There is also no information within the novel coronavirus genome indicating it was man-made.”
“With regard to designing and creating an entirely unknown virus, it is beyond the current capability of any laboratory of our institute. We have never engaged in, nor will we ever engage in trying to design and construct a new virus,” he said.
P4 lab well managed
As for speculation that the virus had escaped from the lab, Yuan said the notion is equally absurd because they did not have the virus before the outbreak, and the possibility of a leak is next to impossible given how the P4 lab was “designed, constructed and managed in accordance with strict international requirements”.
The Wuhan P4 lab was one of the big scientific cooperation programs under the Sino-French Cooperation Framework Agreement, and it took officials and scientists from both countries nearly two decades to bring it to fruition, he said.
The lab is modeled after the “box within a box” plan from the renowned P4 Jean Merieux-Inserm Laboratory in Lyon, France, Yuan said. Moreover, the Chinese P4 lab is a member of the Group of High-Containment Laboratory Directors, an international network of high-security biolabs.
“We have constantly conducted international exchanges and experience sharing in laboratory operations and maintenance to improve our operating capability,” Yuan said.
Last year, the institute held two international conferences and hosted over 70 foreign academics from around the world, he said, adding that the institute has engaged in frequent collaboration with France, the US, Germany and many other countries.
In terms of infrastructure, Yuan said the core facility of the P4 lab is completely sealed off with stainless steel enclosure walls and pressurized environments to ensure no virus can escape from the “box within a box” confinement.
All researchers and supporting technicians entering the P4 lab must receive systematic and rigorous training at home and abroad, Yuan said, adding the first group of lab personnel were trained in P4 labs in France and the US.
“All experiments are conducted in strict accordance with regulations and the entire process is video recorded and stored for the long term,” he said.
“The P4 lab has always operated in a safe and stable way. To date, no pathogen leaks or personnel infection accidents have ever occurred,” he said.
Research under pressure
Despite these safety guarantees, Yuan said the recent onslaught of conspiracy theories against the institute has brought great pressure to the researchers who are busy studying the virus and looking for a possible cure or vaccine.
“I believe it would be hard for anyone to be completely indifferent to such suspicions, rumors and even malicious, offensive remarks that are pulled out of thin air,” he said.
One rumor that was particularly toxic claimed that a female postgraduate student from the institute was the “patient zero” for COVID-19. “The student had graduated in 2015, and has been working and living a normal life in another city,” Yuan said. But the rumor did “irreparable damage” to her safety and privacy and that of her family, he added.
“Despite unexpected pressure and stress, my colleagues and I clearly know that defeating this virus is our top priority and responsibility, and we have worked day in and day out without holidays or weekends,” he said. “Our hard work has been fully supported by Wuhan residents and the government and is recognized by the international scientific community.”
The institute is conducting research on the basic biological characteristics of the novel coronavirus and its mechanism of infection, as well as drug screening and vaccine development.
“It is the policy of the WIV to share scientific research information in an open and timely manner,” Yuan said.