The debate about a possible laboratory accident in Wuhan as the origin of the corona pandemic has flared up again for a few days. This is not based on new findings, explains an expert.
For the zoonoses expert Fabian Leendertz, the newly flared up discussion about a laboratory failure as a possible origin of the corona pandemic is "purely politically motivated". Political power games are behind this, said the founding director of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health in Greifswald.
"Unfortunately, there is no new data that would strengthen the laboratory hypothesis that I am aware of. It remains the most improbable of all hypotheses," said the veterinarian, who himself was involved in the World Health Organization's (WHO) search for the origin. According to the latest statements from US authorities, the WHO had asked the USA to release the underlying information. Inquiries had been made to the US diplomatic mission in Geneva, but no reports had been received so far, WHO expert Maria von Kerkhove said.
FBI chief Christopher Wray recently told Fox News: "The FBI has been assuming for some time that the origin of the pandemic is most likely a possible laboratory incident in Wuhan." It is "about a possible leak in a laboratory controlled by the Chinese government". According to a report by the "Wall Street Journal", the US Department of Energy is now assuming a possible laboratory failure, albeit with a "low" degree of certainty. The relationship between the US and China is currently heavily strained for a number of reasons.
Leendertz, on the other hand, said there is good scientific evidence that the likelihood of transmission in a market in Wuhan, China, is extremely high. He reiterated that transmission is most likely via intermediate hosts, who may have caught the virus or its ancestors from bats. These could have become infected, for example, on wildlife farms, where a high density of insects also attracts bats. "That alone would be a scandal and reason enough for the Chinese government not to be open." Wild animal farms and the use of various wild animals have long been criticized and clearly described as dangerous.
Scientists have been searching for the origin of the pandemic for three years. A WHO delegation was in China in early 2021, and Beijing had refused further trips by international experts. The WHO has recommended several investigations in China and elsewhere, but so far these have not been delivered. China categorically denies that the virus could have escaped from a laboratory. In Wuhan, where corona diseases first appeared at the end of 2019, research is being carried out on corona viruses in a laboratory.
According to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the origin must be found in order to prevent future pandemics as far as possible. "The WHO continues to urge China to transparently share data, conduct the necessary investigations and publish the results," he said. "To this end, I have written to and spoken to senior Chinese politicians on several occasions, most recently a few weeks ago. Until then, all hypotheses about the origin of the virus remain on the table."
