Shi Zhengli, better known as ‘Batwoman’ for her work on bat viruses, is at the center of a risky viral investigation that is under scrutiny for her possible role in a possible lab leak that could have caused the first Covid outbreak. 19 in Wuhan that led to the global pandemic.
Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli, better known as ‘Batwoman’ for her work on bat viruses, has said a future coronavirus outbreak is “very likely”.
Shi is the director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). Shi is at the center of a risky viral investigation that is under scrutiny for his possible role in a possible lab leak that could have caused the first Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan that led to the global pandemic.
In a paper published in July, Shi and his colleagues noted that there are 20 types of coronaviruses that have a “high probability” of passing to humans at some point.
It should be noted that there are hundreds of types of coronaviruses, but only seven have the ability to infect humans. SARS and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease, are among the seven that can infect humans. The SARS virus caused an epidemic in East Asia between 2002 and 2004 and its first outbreak was recorded in China. Similarly, SARS-CoV-2 was also first found in Wuhan, China, the same city where Shi and his colleagues conduct risky viral research.
What did Shi Zhengli’s article say?
In a paper published in the journal Emerging Microbes & Infections, Shi Zhengli and colleagues (Shi et al) published their evaluation of 40 coronaviruses and their potential to infect humans.
The article, titled “Evaluation and serodiagnosis of coronaviruses with risk of human contagion,” says that the researchers analyzed the viral traits, including population, genetic diversity, receptor and host species, of 40 subspecies coronaviruses that can infect the humans.
The paper’s findings say they found 20 viruses to be at “high risk” of causing outbreaks in humans.
“We performed a comprehensive analysis of all known alpha and beta coronavirus species and identified a list of 20 CoV species with high risk of human contagion, which could be the causative agent of a future outbreak,” said Shi et al.
In their study, Shi et al classified the 40 coronaviruses into four categories:
1. The coronavirus species that cause human disease and that would likely be the causative agent of a future outbreak are 20. In case. of such viruses, bats related to SARS coronaviruses, camels related to MERS and domestic mammals carrying other types of viruses would be the hotspots.
2. The second category is viruses that have shown evidence of contagion from one species to another, but so far not to humans. According to the researchers, they jumped to species that overlapped ecologically with humans and showed characteristics of broad infection potential.
“There is a high probability that these viruses move to humans after favorable ecological or virological changes in the second hosts,” said Shi et al.
3. The third category included a list of high-risk but barely studied coronavirus species. The researchers said its potential for spillover effects should not be underestimated.
“We should not underestimate their risk of contagion, although neither the viral receptor nor their host ranges were known. It is also very likely that new contagion events will be discovered after increased surveillance targeting these viruses,” said Shi et al.
4. The fourth category comprises the presence of low-risk coronaviruses and many unclassified coronaviruses not included in the study. The researchers noted that it indicated more a limit of knowledge of coronaviruses than their lack of importance.
The importance of Shi Zhengli’s study
The study by Shi Zhengli and his colleagues is about a broader understanding of coronaviruses.
A scientist at the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) described it as a “coronavirus dictionary.”
While most virology studies delve into a specific virus to investigate its different properties and mechanisms, this research is closer to a “coronavirus dictionary,” this scientist told the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
He further said: “These studies are not considered innovative or technically challenging and therefore less valued in the field, but they are important. Just as we need a textbook on mushrooms to avoid eating harmful mushrooms, such tools need to be established to the pathogens.”
Shi Zhengli and the debate on the origin of Covid
Shi Zhengli is at the center of an ongoing global debate and research related to the origin of the Covid-19 disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
For years, Shi and his colleagues, in partnership with Western scientists, carried out risky viral research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the first outbreak of the virus occurred. They became involved in ‘gain-of-function’ (GOF) research, which refers to any research that gives an organism new properties – such as a virus – that it does not have naturally.
However, GOF research has been associated with scientific activities in which the transmissibility or virality of viruses or bacteria is improved in a laboratory. More formally, it is called enhanced investigation of potential pandemic pathogens. Wuhan, where the pandemic occurred, was the world center for such risky research and Shi was instrumental in it.
Outlook previously reported: “The GoF research has become central to the laboratory origin hypothesis of Covid-19. It is supported by the fact that Covid-19 emerged next to the world’s leading coronavirus research institution which was also the global center of the coronavirus GoF research: Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) In association with American experts and with the sponsorship of American grants, Shi Zhengli of the WIV, carried out coronavirus research for years. With Peter Daszak of the US-based EcoHealth Alliance, Shi collected 630 types of coronaviruses during 2010-15, often traveling to remote caves and mines. He also collaborated with Ralph Baric, a GoF specialist with US headquarters”
It is suspected that a laboratory accident during said investigation could have caused a leak that could have led to the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan that caused the global pandemic. The suspicions are further supported by the discovery of the series of laboratory accidents in Wuhan laboratories in investigations led by the United States Congress.
“Patents and acquisitions from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) suggest that WIV experienced persistent biosafety issues relevant to the containment of an aerosolized respiratory virus such as SARS-CoV-2… A report dated November 12, 2019 suggested that a biosafety issue had occurred at WIV sometime before November 2019,” according to a congressional report.
The report also said: “In May 2019, the director of the WIV BSL-4 laboratory warned that in high-containment laboratories in China, maintenance costs were neglected and part-time researchers made it ‘difficult to identify and mitigate potential risks.’ of safety in the operation of facilities and equipment with sufficient advance notice.”
Without a doubt, there is no irrefutable evidence that links the Covid-19 outbreak to a laboratory accident, but there is also no evidence that demonstrates a natural origin, even more than three years after the start of the pandemic. On the other hand, government and media investigations have accumulated evidence of risky viral research and a very poor biosafety record in Wuhan, showing that researchers were connecting coronaviruses around the time of the outbreak in the city of Wuhan. beside. This has led to calls for a proper investigation into the possible laboratory origin of Covid-19.
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