Australian experts cast doubts over lab leak theory

Australian scientists, intelligence agencies and netizens have raised questions over claims by United States officials that the novel coronavirus was leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.

"All evidence so far points to the fact that the COVID-19 is naturally derived and not man-made," said Nigel McMillan, director of the Infectious Disease and Immunology Program at Menzies Health Institute at Griffith University, Queensland.

"If you were going to design it in a lab the sequence changes make no sense, as all previous evidence would tell you it would make the virus worse. No system exists in the lab to make some of the changes found," said McMillan.

McMillan said the genetic changes in the virus can be found in two other coronaviruses from bats and pangolins and these are the source hosts.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on May 1 said his government did not have strong evidence that connects a Wuhan laboratory with the virus.

There is no evidence that COVID-19 was man-made, said Edward Holmes, an evolutionary virologist and a member of the Charles Perkins Centre and the Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Disease and Biosecurity at the University of Sydney.

Holmes told China Daily that coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused COVID-19, are commonly found in wildlife species and frequently jump to new hosts. This is also the most likely explanation for the origin of SARS-CoV-2.

Multiple senior intelligence sources in Australia recently confirmed that Australia does not have any evidence that strongly suggests the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the outbreak, according to a recent report by the Sydney Morning Herald, or SMH.

Senior members of the Australian intelligence community told SMH and The Age that most of the content in the research document shared in political circles under the "Five Eyes" network was based on news reports and contained no material from intelligence gathering.

Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing alliance comprising the US,United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

After finding that the research report was based entirely on open source material, Australian intelligence officials said the report was likely the same as a 15-page "dossier" that has been widely quoted to accuse China of covering up the virus.

Voice of disappointment

The SMH report dismissing the US claim has drawn a lot of views online. And one of the longest online messages responding to the report says that the US moves are aimed at trying to manipulate public opinion.

The message writer Sapiens said:"There is a story here and it is not the origin of this virus. The story is the manipulation of the press by the intelligence services. And if they are manipulating the press, what else are they doing? The courts?"

Netizen Pdixon23 said:"The evidence is on the shelf beside Saddam's WMDs." And JeanM commented: "Like they did for the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Remember that? 'Intelligence' is not all it's made out to be."

A message by netizen Avalon7 is more pessimistic: "Having been late into both the two world wars the US seems to be intent of making up for this by making up evidence to start new wars. God help us all."

Others also voiced disappointment with the US administration.

"The world has sadly learnt that if it comes from the Trump administration it will probably be a lie," wrote netizen "duncan", winning a high number of likes.