Is the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Part of China’s Biological Weapons Program?

It is of interest that the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak of the coronavirus, is home to two laboratories that are linked to Chinese bio-warfare programs, the Institute of Biological Products and the Institute of Virology.?Wuhan Institute of Virology is the only laboratory that is the only declared site in China capable of working with deadly viruses.?China has denied having any offensive biological weapons, but the U.S. State Department reported that it suspects China of engaging in a covert biological warfare program last year.?This Institute has previously studied coronaviruses, including strains that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and many others.?(Gertz) Wuhan Institute of Virology is classified as a biological safety level four (BSL-4).?A BSL-4 is described as a dangerous and exotic microbe, posing a high risk of aerosol-transmitted infections, which are frequently fatal without treatment or vaccines, and few labs are at this level.?(Tuttnauer)

On 24 May 2019, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigated a possible policy breach at National Microbiological Lab (NML) (BSL-4), Canada’s only Level 4 virology lab located in Winnipeg.?By 14 July 2019, the Vaccine Development and Antiviral Therapies section in the Special Pathogens Program, virologist Dr. Xiangguo Qiu, with ties to China, was escorted out of the NML amid an investigation into a possible policy breach and loss of security clearance.?Also, in the same month, the University of Manitoba severed ties with Dr. Qiu and Keding Cheng, her husband).?(Pauls) But this investigation is ongoing.

30 Dec 2019, Li Wenliang was a Chinese ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital who was warned about COVID-19 on WeChat by two colleagues. (Woodward & Pickrell)

3 Jan 2020, Wuhan police summoned and admonished Dr. Li for "making false comments on the Internet." Li returned to work, later contracting the virus from an infected patient and dying from the disease on 7 Feb 2020. (Woodward & Pickrell)

The Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention told state-controlled media that the virus originated from wild animals sold at the Wuhan seafood market. The biosafety lab is located 20 miles from the Human Seafood Market. (Gertz)??

On 28 Jan 2020, the Department of Justice charged a Harvard department chair and two Chinese nationals who were researchers at Boston University and Boston hospital for lying about their links to the Chinese government. Authorities are part of an aggressive effort to block Chinese attempts to steal American scientific and technological advances. Charles Lieber, Harvard department chair, was charged with lying about participating in China’s Thousand Talents Plan, which aims to attract research specialists working overseas. Charles Lieber chairs the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology is worth mentioning. The other two Chinese researchers, Yanqing Ye and Zaosong Zheng were charged with being foreign government agents. Ye is a lieutenant in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and she is accused of passing information on research to China. Zheng was arrested at Boston’s Logan International Airport when he tried to smuggle 21 vials of sensitive biological samples to China. (Reuters)

China agreed to the Biological Weapons Convention in 1984, but academics and government agencies have recently asserted that the country is a world leader in bio-weapon production. (Blackwell)

2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Most coronaviruses live in animals.?The coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).?The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new strain.?The common symptoms are respiratory, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties: more severe symptoms, pneumonia, severe acute respiratory symptom, kidney failure, and death.?

This virus attaches to the cells in the lung.?This allows an attached virus to transfer its information to replicate, using the body’s resources.?In addition, this virus targets the lungs, making it an inhalation hazard.?The transmission rate has an estimated range of three to four newly infected from one case.

The incubation period is 2 to 14 days, but the period varies significantly among patients.?In the studies to date, the incubation period average was 5.2 days.?“The mean incubation period was 5.2 days 99.5% confidence interval (CI), 4.1 to 7.0), with the 95th percentile of the distribution at 12.5 days.” (Li) In a German study has confirmed that the virus is transmitted asymptomatically.?(WHO, 3 Feb) As of February 3rd, cases reported are 20,626, of which 2,790 (14%) are in critical condition.?Of this number of infected patients, 653 have recovered, with 426 deaths.?The Fatality Rate is two deaths for every 100 cases (2%).?Compared to the common flu, the Fatality Rate is 1.5%.?The median age of cases detected outside China is 45 years, ranging from 2 to 74 years.?Of the patients reported, 71 percent were male.?(WHO, 27 Jan)

We can predict that these numbers will increase, and the lack of data will slow understanding of the virus. China can be expected to suppress some data for national reasons and prevent mass panic. We saw the suppression of the initial warning from Dr. Li by the Chinese government when he tried to bring it to the attention of fellow doctors. This will lead to mistrust that the Chinese government will allow the world access to actual data as long as it believes it can handle the problem. China stands to be the biggest loser in this. By the time it asks for help, countless people will have lost the fight against the coronavirus. Our next hope is that the virus does not mutate and that a vaccine can be developed in time to stop its spread.

Reference:

Blackwell, T. (2019). Bio-warfare experts question why Canada was sending lethal viruses to China. Edmonton Journal.?https://edmontonjournal.com/health/bio-warfare-experts-question-why-canada-was-sending-lethal-viruses-to-china/wcm/fce2a521-4ce1-4eb0-8ccf-43f165713c0b

Gertz, B. (2020). Virus-hit Wuhan has two laboratories linked to Chinese bio-warfare program. The Washington Post.?https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/24/virus-hit-wuhan-has-two-laboratories-linked-chines/

Li, Q. (2020). Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia. England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001316?https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316

Pauls, K. (2019). Chinese researcher escorted from infectious disease lab amid RCMP investigation. CBC.?https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/chinese-researcher-escorted-from-infectious-disease-lab-amid-rcmp-investigation-1.5211567

Tuttanuer. (2019) Besides the well-known biohazard symbol and full body-suit protective gear, many of us know that dangerous diseases are studied in biosafety laboratories, such as Anthrax, and Ebola, etc.?https://tuttnauer.com/blog/laboratory-autoclaves/bsl-autoclaves-for-biosafety-sterilization

Reuters. (2020). U.S. charges target alleged Chinese spying at Harvard, Boston institution.?https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-crime/us-charges-target-alleged-chinese-spying-at-harvard-boston-institutions-idUSKBN1ZR23V

WHO. (27 Jan 2020). Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Report – 7. World Health Organization.?https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200127-sitrep-7-2019--ncov.pdf

WHO. (3 Feb 2020). Coronavirus. World Health Organization.?https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

Woodward, A. & Pickrell, R. (2020) Whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, who was censored after sounding the alarm about the coronavirus, has died in Wuhan. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-whistleblower-doctor-li-wenliang-in-critical-condition-2020-2%3famp