Maybe this will add more juice to yet another "
deadly virus escapes top-secret government-funded laboratory!, humans at risk!" story. Maybe the virus wasn't created in China. Supposedly, Chinese spies stole the virus in Canada.
Conspiracy theories also abound. A CBC News report about the Canadian government deporting Chinese scientists who worked in a Winnipeg lab that studies dangerous pathogens was distorted on social media to suggest that they were spies who had smuggled out coronaviruses.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/mining-coronavirus-genomes-clues-outbreak-s-originsThe recent outbreak of a new and potentially deadly coronavirus in China has, unsurprisingly, kicked off a deluge of misinformation and conspiracy theories … That hasn’t stopped an outbreak of nonsense and conspiracy theories. On Sunday, the Washington Times — a paper with a distinct ideological bent — published an article claiming that the virus’ outbreak could be linked to a military lab in Wuhan.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/29/coronavirus-china-lab-mortality-virology-wuhan-virus-not-bioweaponOr maybe it escaped from the UK, from a "top-secret" lab funded by Bill Gates (who apparently masquerades as a do-gooder). Yes, even Bill Gates has been dragged in and flayed. He has given substantial funding to the allegedly secretive Pirbright Institute, which plays around with such viruses. The institute has been forced to issue a statement:
The Pirbright Institute is aware that misinformation regarding the Institute and its research is circulating on social media following an outbreak of a new (novel) coronavirus that infects humans in Wuhan, China. These are the facts regarding our coronavirus research and funding.
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The Pirbright Institute carries out research on infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a coronavirus that infects poultry, and porcine delta coronavirus that infects pigs. Pirbright does not currently work with human coronaviruses.
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The Institute holds Patent no. 10130701 which covers the development of an attenuated (weakened) form of the coronavirus that could potentially be used as a vaccine to prevent respiratory diseases in birds and other animals. Many vaccines are made in this way, from flu to polio. We have not yet developed an IBV vaccine, but research is ongoing.
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The Institute is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation (BBSRC UKRI) and also receives funding from many other organisations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The patented work was not funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
https://www.pirbright.ac.uk/news/2020/01/pirbright’s-livestock-coronavirus-research-–-your-questions-answered
(See
pirbright’s-livestock-coronavirus-research-–-your-questions-answered)
bitmask: Indeed. I doubt that anyone who has actually spent time in China would be peddling such stories. From my observations, given the tendency to eat anything that can be chewed combined the astonishingly filthy food markets and unhygienic handling of food in quite a few places in China, the only surprise here is that this sort of thing isn't happening all the time.
Better get your mask and tinfoil suit ready.