Corona origin: WHO does not believe in the laboratory theory - German professor sees "evidence" to the contrary

A WHO team disagreed after investigating the theory that the virus was the result of a laboratory accident.

A German scientist sees it differently - the excitement is great.

• Despite the long duration that the corona virus has now accompanied the world, the origin of the pathogen continues to be disputed.

• The Beijing government has already agreed to an independent investigation of the first cases by a WHO team.

• A scientist from the University of Hamburg published a study showing that the virus is said to be a laboratory accident in Wuhan.

  For that he has to take a lot of criticism.

Hamburg - For about a year now, the corona virus has been causing waves of infections, lockdowns and deaths worldwide.

But exactly where the virus came from and how it came about is still not fully understood.

The United States and an expert from the World Health Organization (WHO) recently asked China to provide more data on the origin of the corona pandemic.

Corona: WHO starts investigation into the origin of the virus

The head of the WHO mission in Wuhan, Peter Ben Embarek, would like to find possible early corona cases, as he told the

AFP

news

agency

.

A corresponding investigation, which should be carried out independently and internationally in order to get to the bottom of the pandemic and the origin of the virus, was initially refused by the government in Beijing and only approved for a period of two weeks a year later.

Corona: Experts believe in bat theory

The first cases were reported in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Ben Embarek and his international WHO team continue to assume that the virus was transmitted from bats to humans via another animal as an intermediate host.

But when and where exactly this could have happened cannot be clarified according to their information.

WHO experts visited the city of Wuhan in early February, where a theory that the virus was the result of a laboratory accident was also rejected.

According to reports, China apparently refused to release all important data on the first 174 cases in December 2019. Ben Embarek's team would now like to examine the raw data on previous disease courses, which could represent already undetected Covid-19 cases.

These include pneumonia, flu, and fever.

This concerns a total of 72,000 cases between October and December, of which Chinese experts examined only 92 for the virus.

These were all negative.

Corona: Meanwhile, scientists publish a study with a different claim

In a study that has now been published, the nanoscientist Roland Wiesendanger from the University of Hamburg comes to a completely different result than the WHO team.

After evaluating "600 clues", he is of the opinion that the pandemic could be the result of a laboratory accident.

He does not assume that the virus has spread via the wild animal market, but rather comes from the nearby high-security laboratory of the virological institute in Wuhan.

Corona: outrage about study - various evidence should indicate laboratory virus

The scientist gives various indications for his result.

First of all, the coronaviruses could "couple surprisingly well to human cell receptors and penetrate into human cells," which indicates "an unnatural origin," said Wiesendanger.

In addition, no bats were offered for sale at the wild animal market in question in Wuhan.

In return, the virological institute he is considering has "one of the world's largest collections of bat pathogens, which come from caves far away in southern Chinese provinces".

There are also “numerous indications” that “a young scientist from the virological institute in Wuhan was the first to be infected”.

The pathogen could have spread in October 2019.

The sources of the study include YouTube videos - with which the author triggered a wave of indignation.

"Only a few days ago a team from the World Health Organization presented a comprehensive report on the outbreak in Wuhan and came up with other possible scenarios," said a spokesman for Science Senator Katharina Fegebank.

Corona theory on laboratory accident causes discussion about professor title

The university did not want to comment on the investigation.

"The university management and the press office of the University of Hamburg do not exercise any censorship on the research objects and results of their scientists," said a spokeswoman.

Hamburg's science authority is also carefully keeping a distance in the controversial investigation into the origin of the corona virus.

“Freedom of science is an immovable good.

Nonetheless, it applies to all forms of scientific research that if the data situation is unclear or uncertain, it is advisable to exercise caution, ”said the spokesman for Senator for Science Katharina Fegebank.

German politicians and journalists, however, demand that the study should be withdrawn and that it should not be reported on.

Wiesendanger's title and his status at Hamburg University should also be questioned.

A

Spiegel

journalist tweeted: "This is not a study, this is a wild collection of brightly colored PDFs".

An

ARD

journalist tweeted the evening before the publication: “Professor.

A title that promises a lot and sometimes doesn't keep anything at all. "

Corona: Upcoming WHO investigation politically explosive

Beijing rejects any responsibility for the pandemic and is also bringing further spread possibilities into play.

Joe Biden's security adviser Jake Sullivan also said Washington has "serious concerns" about the way the investigation in Wuhan has gone.

When the final WHO report on the investigations of the international group of experts on the origin of the virus in China has not yet been determined.

(* With material from dpa and afp)