(Dangerous) Manzil Dhaar Bhi Hain: There are 59 laboratories in the world like Wuhan

London, Saturday 5 June 2021

The issue is whether the corona virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and spread around the world. U.S. President Joe Biden has asked U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate and report back within 90 days.

However, according to a group of scientists, research on the virus continues worldwide. Accidents also happen there. So even if this happened in Wuhan, it should be considered a tragedy.

The well-known British newspaper The Financial Times, in a report published on Friday, said that 59 other laboratories around the world, such as Wuhan, are either present or in existence. Biological research is done in these laboratories. Or will be done in the future. The number of such laboratories has grown exponentially in the last decade. Laboratories like Wuhan are either present or are being set up in 9 countries including England, USA, China, India, Gabon and Ivory Coast. Wuhan Laboratory is one of the three laboratories.

Gregory Coblentz, a professor of biodefense at George Mason University, and Philippa Lento, a professor at King's College London, have studied these laboratories. Of the 42 laboratories that have statistical facts present, half of the APECs have been ready in the last decade. Lentoz said the more research work that is being done, the more accidents there will be.

Richard Abrait, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University in the United States, told the Financial Times that the more laboratories there are and the more individuals are exposed to these dangerous germs, the greater the risk.

According to experts, whatever the findings of the Wuhan Laboratory investigation, it is clear that the Corona epidemic has attracted the world's attention to virus research. So far there is no system of international oversight on such research. Koblentz and Lentoz have noted that 59 laboratories operate under Safety Level-4. But only a quarter of these institutions have a high level of biosecurity.

One-third of the laboratories have a mid-level system, while 41 percent have a low-level biosecurity system, according to a long-running study published recently in New York Magazine. Similar incidents have occurred in other virus-related laboratories around the world.

The Financial Times reports that 67 types of toxins and potentially hazardous substances are used in laboratories under the auspices of the US Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to a 2019 report, 13 such items have disappeared in the United States and 219 of them have been leaked, leaving no one sick.

Some scientists said that China's reluctance to conduct an international investigation of the Wuhan laboratory raised suspicions that there was a problematic situation.

Lentoz said he knew about the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the work that took place there. There is a lack of transparency about this. There is no openness but when you build such a laboratory you have to make sure that there is work done with full transparency.