Several scenarios are under consideration, but no argument
allows to confirm this or that hypothesis of the origin of
Covid-19, writes the French newspaper Le Figaro. A small
sequence of amino acids is questionable, namely, a fragment
of the Sars-CoV-2 genome, which confers a high ability to
infect human cells. The so-called spike protein. It is known
that some viruses, in particular, influenza viruses, have such
adaptations. But in the scientific literature, it is believed that
the virus of the Sars-CoV-2 family does not have such a natural
component, the article says. The presence of the spike protein
in Covid-19 is so remarkable that many scientists consider it
sufficient reason to take the laboratory leak hypothesis "as
seriously as the zoonotic hypothesis." This was stated by the
authors of an open letter published in the journal Science in
April 2021, signed, in particular, by Ralph Barick, a world
expert in experiments to increase functionality, that is,
manipulations aimed at giving the virus new capabilities.
This hypothesis even took a new turn when DRASTIC, an
independent research group on the origins of Covid-19,
discovered that the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) through
the Eco Health Alliance. A specialized American organization
for the prevention of pandemics, led by virologist Peter Dashak,
in 2018 requested funding for augmentation experiments aimed
at acquiring the notorious furin properties for Sars-CoV-1 viruses.
Funding was denied. Less than a week before these revelations,
a team at the Pasteur Institute reported that they had found
viruses very similar to Sars-CoV-2 in northern Laos, far from
the first outbreak of the pandemic. These viruses are not
ancestors, but close relatives of Sars-Cov-2, and have a very
similar spike protein. Scientists estimate that several decades
separate the Wuhan strain from the ancestor of the Lao viruses.
Therefore, the task is to understand how this ancestor gave rise
to a highly pathogenic virus 2,000 km away, in Wuhan, the
publication points out. When I look at the genome of this virus,
I see a human hand, notes Simon Wayne-Hobson, a former
virologist at the Pasteur Institute.
However, the coronavirus has already spread in the Chinese city
of Wuhan in the summer of 2019, according to the Telegraph
newspaper, citing a study by the cybersecurity consultancy
company Internet 2.0. It is noted that the Internet 2.0 analysis
focused on contracts for the purchase of equipment for PCR
laboratories in Hubei province, the capital of which is Wuhan.
The study indicates that spending in 2019 almost doubled
compared to 2018. The authors of the report emphasize that
"a significant increase in expenses" was recorded in the summer
of 2019. According to the report, the increase in costs was driven
by procurement by authorities related to disease control and
prevention. Among them are the China Center for Disease Control
and Prevention in Hubei, the military hospital in Wuhan, the Wuhan
Institute of Virology and the Wuhan University of Science and
Technology. According to the newspaper, the results of the analysis
have already been passed on to US government officials. In 2014,
two research teams succeeded in making the H5N1 and H7N9
influenza viruses infectious among ferrets. This was an important
step because these animals, like humans, cough and sneeze when
they get sick. The infection patterns among these animals are very
close to those of humans, explains Jean-Claude Manuguerra, head
of the Biological Emergency Response Unit at the Pasteur Institute.
That same year, in January, a report showed that in the United States
between 2004 and 2010, there were 4 accidental infections with
dangerous viruses in Level 3 laboratories. That is, the probability of
an accident was 0.2% per laboratory per year. Therefore, if 10
laboratories work on these viruses for 10 years, then the risk of
infection approaches 20%, says the author of the report, Vincent
Bordenave. In 2014, the United States declared a moratorium on
work to enhance the function of the virus. It lasted three years, and
until the start of Trump's presidency, no such experiment was funded
on American soil.
Genetic manipulation tools developed in recent years, such as
CRISPR/Cas9, have made an incredible leap forward in this
technique, and now we can determine exactly which part of the
genome we want to change, says Jean-Claude Manuguerra. Thus,
many teams manipulate the Drosophila genome in order to understand
the role of each of the genes and, ultimately, work on genetic
diseases. In medical research, it happens quite often that mice need
to be humanized, for example, to test the effectiveness of a vaccine,
adds Jean-Claude Manuguerra. One of the main dangers is that function
enhancement is something rather broad and poorly defined, analyzes
Jacques van Helden, a biologist at Aix-Marseille University. In my
opinion, all experiments aimed at giving the virus a new function should
be considered. But who should control them? In the course of the
Sars-CoV-2 investigation, we saw that WHO's mandate is
rather limited. The scientist said.
