Where and when the Covid-19 epidemic began – Wuhan, China in late 2019 – is well known. How it started as a matter of intense controversy. There are two competing theories, one of which hinders the process of scientific discovery and could prevent the development of vaccines and other antiviral tools in the US.
The zoonosis theory suggests that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, was naturally transmitted from an animal to one or more people in a so-called wet market in Wuhan. sell fresh produce, meat, fish and live animals. . The laboratory leak theory suggests that the virus was modified (perhaps as a result of the process), or even created, at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and somehow escaped from the laboratory.
Many politicians, politicians and the general public now like the idea of a lab leak. Most scientists, especially biologists, do not. This division threatens their legitimate and important work in society, as explained in a peer-reviewed article published on August 1 in the Journal of Virology written by 41 virologists. I am one of them.
The concept of zoonosis is based on solid evidence. Viruses are often transmitted from animals to humans, although they are usually dead events without ongoing human-to-human transmission that causes an epidemic. Wildlife coronaviruses have always been ready to infect humans. An estimated 66,000 people are infected with SARS coronaviruses each year as a result of contact with human bats, almost all of which result from asymptomatic infections with minimal infection. or empty.
That said, the zoonotic transmission of three different coronaviruses (MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2) from other animals to humans has caused epidemics or diseases. He died 25 years ago. The 2002-2003 SARS-CoV-1 outbreak began in a Chinese wet market.
The 1918 flu pandemic, which first crossed an animal and human, probably from a pig in the Americas, killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide.
Illegal wildlife trade and wet markets are a $20 billion global industry with clear zoonosis risks. When people and “strange” animals meet in close proximity, the risk of viral infection increases. There is the potential for a devastating pandemic when the H5N1 flu virus enters birds and cattle, and sometimes people, in the US.
The lab leak theory, on the other hand, lacks evidence: It relies on a series of unproven and highly speculative events. A recent New York Times guest essay by Alina Chan, a molecular biologist at the Broad Center at MIT and Harvard, repeats arguments made earlier about 2020 to 2022, but offers no new evidence. .
The Internet and scientific literature support the idea of zoonotic transmission and/or contradict the idea that a laboratory leak occurred.
Five out of seven reports from the US scientific community favor the zoonotic origin of SARS-CoV-2, based on debunked scientific evidence and research. These five reports found no evidence that the Wuhan Institute for Virology had SARS-CoV-2 or a closely related virus before the end of December 2019, and concluded that it was unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 was created.
However the lab leak hypothesis is already dominating the debate in the public square. It is being promoted by right-wing politicians and media stars, and even endorsed by high-profile newspapers such as The New York Times. The Heritage Foundation, a think tank, has accepted the laboratory leak as a proven fact, dismissing the zoonosis hypothesis on dubious grounds. That is important, as the report outlines the government’s future policies on relations with China.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), testified in June 2024 before a House of Representatives subcommittee investigating the Covid-19 outbreak. He said that people should always be open-minded about competing ideas, waiting for solid evidence for one or the other. Despite taking a moderate stance, Fauci was vilified, even told that he should be “impeached” and imprisoned for “crimes against humanity” because NIAID sent grant money for of coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology with a subcontract to the EcoHealth Alliance.
My concern, and that of many other virologists, is that the thin evidence of the lab leak hypothesis is damaging the virus research community at a time when it has an important role to play in the face of and epidemic threats. Fauci’s attacks are not unique. Coronavirus virologists are falsely accused of engineering SARS-CoV-2, allowing it to escape the lab due to inadequate safety protocols, being participants in international conferences, and taking aid e and a bribe from NIAID for favoring the zoonosis theory. There is increasing harassment, intimidation, threats and violence against very bad scientists on the Internet.
In a survey conducted by Science magazine, of 510 researchers publishing coronavirus research, 38% received insults, threats of violence, doxing (providing personally identifiable information), and even face threats. A second survey of 1,281 scientists found that 51% had experienced at least one type of harassment, sometimes repeatedly for years.
As a result, scientists withdraw from social networks, refuse opportunities to speak publicly, and take measures to protect themselves and their families. Some have even diverted their work to controversial issues.
There are now long-term risks that few experts will help fight future pandemics; and that scientists will not be willing to talk about the most advanced, rapid, global health research. Epidemic preparedness research has been postponed, diverted or abandoned. What is most worrying is that the next generation of scientists has a serious fear of becoming researchers in emerging viruses and epidemiology.
All microbiologists recognize the need for laboratory safety. None of them are indifferent additions of the lab leak hypothesis – that there could be a future escape of a dangerous virus from a research laboratory. However, concerns about lab leaks support policy proposals that would restrict unnecessary research into vaccines and antivirals in the U.S. The main issue here is that a lab leak report creates distrust in science and public health services. The increasingly dangerous and pervasive anti-science agenda is damaging individual scientists and their institutions, and is hindering plans to combat current and future pandemics.
Science is humanity’s best insurance policy against natural threats, but it is a fragile business that must be nurtured and protected. Science organizations need to develop anti-scientist programs and protect the business of research amid growing hostility.
And the words spoken to the biologists must be limited. Viruses are the real threats to people, not virus experts.
John P. Moore, Ph.D., is a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City. This essay is adapted from a longer article written by 40 colleagues published in Journal of Virology.
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