Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many controversial theories are arguing whether the Virus SARS-CoV-2 is from nature or not. However, despite the unavailability of proper evidence, a Chinese virologist Dr.Li-Meng Yan claiming that the coronavirus as manmade has given rise to speculations. Dr Li-Meng Yan specialized in virology and immunology at the Hong Kong School of Public Health claimed, Beijing knew about the coronavirus long before reports started to emerge. She has since been forced to flee Hong Kong for fear of endangering her life and appeared from a hidden location on Loose Women on Friday, announcing that the Chinese government had ‘removed all of her information’ from government databases. Dr Yan claimed that allegations that Covid-19 was born on a wet market in Wuhan are a ‘smokescreen,’ and she plans to publish a report that she says has evidence that the virus is manmade.

The progress made in biotechnology and biochemistry over the last century has simplified the production and manufacture of such weapons. Genetic engineering, in comparison, possesses perhaps the most dangerous potential. The Facility of production and the wide availability of biological agents and technological know-how has contributed to a further spread of biological weapons and a growing willingness among developing countries to use and possess them.

“The first thing is the meat market in Wuhan is a smokescreen and this virus is not from nature,” Dr Yan said. When asked where the virus comes from, the scientist replied: ‘It comes from the lab in Wuhan.’ The genome sequence is like a human fingerprint’, she said. ‘And based on this you can identify these things. I will [use this] evidence to tell people why this has come from the lab in China, why they are the ones who made it.
“Anyone, even if you have no biology knowledge will be able to read it and check and identify and verify it yourself”. ‘It is critical to understand it, we cannot overcome it, and it will be life-threatening for everyone.’ She claimed that ahead of fleeing her country, her information was wiped from government databases and that her peers were ‘told to spread rumors about her’.

‘This is some common sense for Chinese people’, she said. ‘We know under Chinese government [they are at risk]. ‘They deleted all my information and also they told people to spread rumors about me, that I’m a liar, I don’t know anything, I just killed a hamster in the lab. They will try to control my family and friends and then suddenly I don’t exist.’
The virologist was based at a prestigious university in Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading centers for infectious disease research and a core member of the global epidemiology network of the World Health Organization (WHO). Yan says she was one of the first scientists to research the coronavirus to be identified as Covid-19, and her supervisor at the University asked her to look into an unusual cluster of SARS-like cases that erupted in mainland China at the end of December 2019. Via her medical and scientific contacts, she appears to have stumbled across a cover-up of massive proportions.

However, she has overlooked her facts of human transmission and argues that Beijing intentionally distorts knowledge of the origin of the virus. As the death toll increased, Dr Yan felt that she had a moral and scientific responsibility to blow the whistle on the cover-up, and is now hiding after moving to the United States, believing that her life will be in danger. ‘I was a medical doctor and PhD, said Yan, ‘I work with a bunch of the top experts in the world and because I had my two degrees from mainland China, I was the one assigned to do the secret investigation about new pneumonia in Wuhan.
‘During my investigation, what I found I reported to my supervisor, there was no response, because everyone was worried. ‘So I kept silent, I knew I had to tell people because it’s urgent and on the account of a famous Chinese YouTuber in the US it was told to the world [that] China had discovered the COVID situation and [that] human to human transmission already exists’.

Yan claimed she saw ‘nobody responding’ to her reports of human to human transmission, and that while there is fear surrounding the Chinese government, she ‘could not keep silent’. From the beginning, I decided to get this message out in the world and it was very scary in the world because I’m a doctor and I knew if I don’t tell the truth to the world I will regret it myself in the future. She went on: ‘I never thought this would happen when I did the secret investigation, I [thought] I would speak to my supervisor and they would do the right thing on behalf of the government. ‘But what I saw was nobody responding to that. People are scared of the government but this was something urgent, and Chinese New Year time, [I knew] this was a dangerous virus and all these things meant I could not keep silent, there are human beings and global health [at risk].’

Whilst the world is looking for evidence from Dr.Yan to prove the virus is manmade, the world community must acquire knowledge regarding biological weapons, how they are used and the way to control them. The invisibility and delayed effects are rare in biological weapons. These factors allow those who use them to instill fear and uncertainty among their victims and to escape undetected. Not only would a bio-warfare attack cause illness and death in a large number of people, but it would also serve to generate terror, confusion and paralyzing uncertainty. The purpose is to disrupt social and economic activity, to break down government authority and to impair military responses. As demonstrated by the “anthrax letters” in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack in September 2001, the occurrence of only a small number of infections can create an enormous psychological impact-everyone feels threatened and nobody knows what will happen next.
The choice of agent for bio-warfare depends on the state or organization’s diplomatic, technological, and financial capabilities. Smallpox, Ebola, and Marburg virus can be selected for having a reputation for causing severe disease. Images on the nightly news of doctors, nurses, and law enforcement personnel in full protective gear could cause widespread public distraction and anxiety.

Even though we do not have enough evidence to prove COVID-19 is an act of bioterrorism, attempts at Bio-warfare is now a possibility. Both the medical staff and the public should familiarize themselves with epidemiology and prevention measures to maximize the probability of a rational and reasonable response if an epidemic were to occur. Indeed, the concepts that help clinicians establish disease strategies remain crucial, as the medical community addresses the question of proliferation of biological weapons. For the medical profession, continuing education that focuses on understanding this challenge is timely and appropriate.

Primary prevention rests on creating a global norm that rejects the development of such weapons. Secondary prevention implies early detection and prompt treatment of disease. The medical community and epidemiologists play a crucial role in secondary prevention by participating in disease surveillance and reporting and thus providing the first indication of biological weapons use. Furthermore, ongoing studies to develop monitoring and the hunt for enhanced diagnostic capabilities, therapeutic agents and successful response plans would further reinforce secondary preventive measures. Finally, it is necessary not to forget the role of tertiary prevention, which limits the impairment of the disease. Unfortunately, the world is struggling with the current pandemic of COVID-19. However, the learnt lessons and preparedness as a global community to face a future Pandemic would help us survive the future threats of biological war.

By Jumana Jabeer