Chinese Scientist Denies Lab-Leak Theory Believed to be the Origin of the Pandemic

Dr. Shi Zhengli denies the allegations of lab-leak...get the details

Wednesday, 16th June 2021

A Chinese scientist by the name of Dr Shi Zhengli has had her name entwined in a controversial theory regarding the origins of the coronavirus pandemic that has the entire world acting on its caprice at the moment. The virologist however, in a recent interview has denied all accusations of her involvement in the matter.

Dr Zhengli is believed to be that scientist whose specialized lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan has had a serious disaster and the most dreaded leak of all times that led to the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. The scientist refuted such charges and clearly stated that her institute is not to blame for the calamity.

She went on to say, "I don't know how the world has come to this, constantly pouring filth on an innocent scientist."

The researcher is an expert in the subject of bat coronaviruses and is believed to have cranked up the virus strength in the course of her experiments to make better study of it.

Last month, in a bid to get to the roots of the health disaster currently being faced globally in the form of a pandemic, US President Joe Biden ordered intelligence agencies to probe deeper into its origins that includes the theory of a leakage that happened in a Chinese laboratory.

This theory had come up before as well during the administration of Biden's predecessor, former president of the United States, Donald Trump. However, the same was dismissed as a conspiracy theory at the time.

In recent times however, the theory gained new momentum after the release of reports about three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology falling ill post their visit to a bat cave in Yunan, a province in the south western part of China, back in 2019.

According to the American publication, the scientist along with her colleagues had published a finding in 2017 "in which they created new hybrid bat coronaviruses by mixing and matching parts of several existing ones - including at least one that was nearly transmissible to humans - in order to study their ability to infect and replicate in human cells."

Dr Shi however denied all accusations and said, "My lab has never conducted or cooperated in conducting GOF experiments that enhance the virulence of viruses."

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

NDTV