The debate about whether the coronavirus arose from a laboratory or whether it came from nature itself is still in vogue when we have been in the pandemic for almost a year and a half. But in recent weeks it has resurfaced strongly. Why?
As reported by Gizmodo , there is no new evidence pointing to the possibility that an uncontrolled leak from inside the Wuhan laboratory has been the trigger for the pandemic.
But precisely the fact that a year and a half has passed and the scientific community still has no certainty about the origin of the virus, is what keeps all options open.
A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal published information revealing that three researchers from the Wuhan laboratory had been admitted to a hospital in November 2019, a month before the virus was ‘officially’ discovered.
The symptoms of these three employees were compatible with those of Covid-19, but also with other seasonal ailments, that is, it could have been the flu or even a cold.
This information also emerges when the World Health Organization (WHO) is going to launch the second phase of its investigation to discover the origins of the virus.
In parallel, the president of the United States, Joe Biden , has ordered his intelligence services to present a report on the possible origin of the coronavirus within 90 days. This decision has raised blisters in China, which has responded with the same weapon: they threaten to investigate the United States.
Created in a laboratory as a biological weapon?
Some experts believe that it is unlikely that the virus was created in a laboratory and leaked abroad as a biological weapon. The genetic analysis of the virus reveals that there are no differences with another coronavirus that emerged from bats in China and the presence of laboratory manipulation is not seen.
Gizmodo also points out that the bioweapon theory has a loophole: the effect of the coronavirus has been global, China has also been affected and it is impossible to limit the damage to a certain group.
Discovered in the wild but escaped from the laboratory
Instead, a more feasible option is for the virus to be discovered in the wild and then ‘escape’ from a laboratory , either voluntarily or inadvertently. Although according to experts this theory is unlikely, it is possible.
The Wuhan laboratory has, among other tasks, studying various types of coronavirus to find out why some of them are so dangerous. In fact, in everyone’s memory is the dreaded SARS, which emerged from Asian bats in 2003, and was a brief but terrible pandemic at the time.
Precisely, the origins of that SARS could not be known with certainty until 14 years later, in 2017 , so that in the case of the Wuhan coronavirus, a similar time may pass.
Leon Cooper was born and raised in Vancouver. As a Reporter for WideWorldMag, Leon has contributed to several online publications including Dream House Publications and Granville Magazine. In regards to academics, Leon has got a Post Graduation Degree in Department Of Archaeology from The University Of British Columbia. As a Reporter for WideWorldMag Leon Covers International Topics.