Wuhan lab had three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, none matched COVID-19

The director of the Chineses virology institute reportedly said that they have three live strain of bat coronavirus on-site, however, none match the new contagion wreaking chaos across the world. Several scientists around the globe believe that the deadly COVID-19 originated in bats and could have been transmitted via another mammal. But the director of Wuhan Institute of Virology reportedly said that the claims made by US President Donald Trump and others that the virus leaked from the facility were ‘pure fabrication’. 

While speaking to an international media outlet, Wang Yanyi said that the institute has ‘isolated and obtained some coronavirus from bats’. She added that with three strains of live viruses, their highest similarity to SARS-CoV-2 only reaches 79.8 per cent. While referring to past research, led by Professor She Zhengli, Yanyi also added that they know that the whole genome of SARS-CoV-2 is only 80 per cent similar to that of SARS and because of its ‘obvious difference’ the team did not pay attention to such viruses which are less similar to the SARS virus. 

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Wuhan lab speculations 

Meanwhile, the Wuhan laboratory has been accused by top US officials of being the source of coronavirus pandemic. US President Donald Trump and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo have repeatedly claimed that there is evidence that the pathogen came from the lab itself. Several leaders have also speculated that the deadly coronavirus was human-made and started from contact with infected animals or from an ‘accident’ at the Wuhan lab in China.

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However, China has strongly denied the allegations. Even the World Health Organisation reportedly said that Washington had offered no evidence to support the ‘speculative’ claims. The top US epidemiologist, Anthony Fauci, also echoed that evidence so far ‘strongly indicates’ a natural origin. 

While there is still no proof for the lab accident theory, there is also no clear evidence that the virus came from Wuhan market. Several scientists believe that the researchers ‘need to look into the origin’ of the deadly COVID-19 as it has already affected nearly 212 countries and territories around the globe. While scientists have the hypothesis that the virus came from a live animal market, there is still no definitive evidence that shows to the contrary. 

(Image credit: PTI) (With inputs from AFP)

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