4 ms·
>The viral phylogeny and history of it's evolution ... point to it being a natural zoonotic spillover event. Wuhan had a virus institute because it is a place
by ImaCake 5y ago
>The viral phylogeny and history of it's evolution
... point to it being a natural zoonotic spillover event. Wuhan had a virus institute because it is a place where novel viruses are found, not the other way around.
- wk_end 5y agoThis is not true as far as I’m aware. Novel bat coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2 are usually found deep in bat caves in the south of China, ~2000km away from Wuhan. The WIV was established in the 50s, long before serious coronavirus research was a thing.
- ImaCake 5y agoHeh good point. Maybe its proximity has helped it become important, or it could be an accident of geography.