The Wuhan Institute of Virology was studying coronaviruses found in bats from Laos in the months before the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, providing fuel for the theory that Sars-Cov-2 escaped from a lab.
US government documents, released under Freedom of Information, suggest the bat origin and the lab escape stories might not be competing theories after all – in fact, they may both be true.
In September, scientists discovered Banal-52, a coronavirus found in Lao bats, which shares 96.8 percent of its genome with Sars-Cov-2.
The striking similarity between the two coronaviruses led scientists to speculate that the Lao bat strain could have somehow given rise to Sars-Cov-2.
But there was one glaring problem: how could a virus originating in bats living in Laos spark an outbreak in Wuhan over 1000 miles away?
Sars-Cov-2 may be the result of a virus discovered in Lao bats. It is not clear how it traveled 1000 miles from Laos in order to reach Wuhan. Documents leaked reveal that US-funded researchers sent viral samples (pictured) from Laos bats, to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The bat-borne coronavirus, Banal-52, shares 96.8 percent of its genome with Sars-Cov-2, leading some to believe it could have given rise to the Covid pandemic
This puzzle may now be solved as emails leaked by EcoHealth Alliance to US government funding agencies reveal that viral samples taken from Lao bats were being sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for analysis.
According to emails obtained by White Coat Waste Project (a US-based campaign organization), viral DNA from “bats and other highly-risk species” was sent to Wuhan in June 2017, May 2019, according to records.
Leaked emails between EcoHealth Alliance and US government funders reveal viral samples from Lao bats were being collected and sent for study in the Wuhan Institute of Virology between June 2017 to May 2019
EcoHealth Alliance was also working in Laos. They were studying cave bat viruses, Yunnan in China and sent the samples to Wuhan scientists for further research.
Researchers have been prevented from accessing the Yunnan mineshaft by the Chinese government, which is where RaTG13 (pictured) was found.
RaTG13 was also found in Yunnan in a horseshoe bat.
In September 2019, records of both Yunnan’s genetic sequences and Laos’ were deleted from the Wuhan Institute’s online database, leaving scientists in the dark regarding the strains they had studied.
Co-author of the book about Covid’s Origin, Lord Matt Ridley said that the Lao connection gives hope for western researchers whose quest to find the truth was hampered by China’s unwillingness to cooperate
Gilles Demaneuf is a New Zealand-based Data Scientist and member of Drastic’s Pandemic-origins Research Group. He said that this revelation offered a “plausible” route to viral transmission from Lao bats into people in Wuhan.
A blog by Mr Dermaneuf recently stated: “Now, we have a very feasible direct route with only two options.
Co-author of the book SARS-CoV-2’s Origins, Lord Matt Ridley says that if the origins of the pandemic really started in Laos it can give hope for western scientists, who have been unsuccessful in their quest to find the truth due to intransigent China
Number one: A Wuhan bat sampler was infected while on a field sampling mission. Number two: A research accident in Wuhan while manipulating the Laos Banal bat coronavirus.
Drastic, an open-source data analysis group, leaked another document in September. It revealed that Dr Peter Daszak (head of EcoHealth Alliance) had asked the US government to fund artificially inserting cleavage sites in Sars-like coronaviruses found in the field.
Due to the risk of viral manipulations, Dr Peter Daszak’s request for $14.2M in 2018 was rejected.
Co-author of Viral. The Search for the Origin of Covid-19 was Lord Matt Ridley. Ridley said the US government may have rejected the proposal to insert cleavage site into Sars-like Coronaviruses.
Lord Ridley, a columnist for The Spectator wrote that “most of the funding for Wuhan Institute of Virology comes out of China, not the American government; therefore, the inability to receive a grant from the US may have not prevented work being completed.”
‘Moreover, exactly such an experiment had already been done with a different kind of coronavirus by — guess who? — the Wuhan Institute of Virology.’
Concerning the link proposed with Laos bats Lord Ridley highlighted the hope it might give west researchers. Their search for truth about SARS/CoV-2 was hampered by China’s incooperation.
Lord Ridley said: “If the path leading to the pandemic’s source leads through Laos then it is possible that western countries could find out more.
RaTG13, another coronavirus found in bats in Yunnan, China, is another candidate for being Sars-Cov-2’s progenitor
“The Chinese government has stopped anyone from getting near the Yunnan mineshaft where RaTG13 was located.
RaTG13 is a bat-borne virus that was found in Yunnan (China) in horseshoe bats. It has a striking genetic similarity with Sars-Cov-2. Pictured: A horseshoe bat hanging from a cave rock.
“But, now that we know US funding Viral Sampling in Laos, EcoHealth Alliance should report exactly what they found.
‘Saying ‘Oh, that data belongs to the Chinese now’ is not good enough. The work was funded by American taxpayers. The US National Institutes of Health (USNIH) has asked for more details.
EcoHealth Alliance has not responded to my request for comment immediately.