Origin of COVID-19: dismissing the Mojiang mine theory and the laboratory accident narrative
Frutos R., Javelle E., Barberot C., Gavotte L., Tissot-Dupont H., Devaux C.. 2022. Environmental Research, 204 (Part B) : 5 p..
The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still the subject of a controversial debate. The natural origin theory is confronted to the laboratory leak theory. The latter is composite and comprises contradictory theories, one being the leak of a naturally occurring virus and the other the leak of a genetically engineered virus. The laboratory leak theory is essentially based on a publication by Rahalkar and Bahulikar in 2020 linking SARS-CoV-2 to the Mojiang mine incident in 2012 during which six miners fell sick and three died. We analyzed the clinical reports. The diagnosis is not that of COVID-19 or SARS. SARS-CoV-2 was not present in the Mojiang mine. We also bring arguments against the laboratory leak narrative.
Mots-clés : coronavirus 2 du syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère; covid-19; provenance; génie génétique; industrie minière; accidents; virologie; chine
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Agents Cirad, auteurs de cette publication :
- Frutos Roger — Bios / UMR INTERTRYP