Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, and the notorious Dr. Ralph Baric, professor of epidemiology, microbiology, and immunology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, are raising alarm bells over inadequate safety measures at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Baric‘s intervention is particularly notable, as he has previously contributed to Chinese gain-of-function research funded by Dr. Anthony Fauci, with Wuhan coronavirus researcher Shi Zhengli describing him as a “longtime collaborator.”
In an article penned by the virus experts, they caution that poor biosafety protocols at the lab—already a focal point in debates over the origins of COVID-19—could endanger global public health. The warning stems from a recent study published in the scientific journal Cell, where researchers identified a bat-derived coronavirus, dubbed HKU5-CoV-2, capable of infecting human and animal cells. This virus, related to the MERS-causing pathogen with fatality rates far exceeding COVID-19’s, was examined by scientists tied to the Wuhan Institute. While Lipkin and Baric stop short of linking this virus to an imminent pandemic, they express deep concern over the lab’s handling of such a threat.
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“What worries us is the insufficient safety precautions the researchers took when studying this coronavirus,” the experts write, pointing to the lab’s use of a “BSL-2 plus” facility for experiments with the live virus. Unlike the highly secure BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs—equipped with advanced air systems, protective suits, and strict access controls—BSL-2-plus tier facilities fall short for handling dangerous respiratory viruses. “We think [it] is insufficient for work with potentially dangerous respiratory viruses,” the professors warn.
The Wuhan Institute, long under scrutiny for its role in coronavirus research, conducted these experiments after initial computer-based analyses confirmed the virus’s ability to infect human cells. Yet, rather than escalating to a higher-security lab, the team proceeded under a setting Lipkin and Baric deem inadequate.
“This work was apparently approved by the local institutional biosafety committee and adhered to national biosafety standards, but it is not sufficient for work with a new virus that could have significant risks for people worldwide,” they note. […]
— Read More: thenationalpulse.com
