According to reports from several official media, China leaked the SARS virus from its laboratory in 2004. Around the Chinese New Year period of 2004 (late January 2004), a staff member at the National Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took the SARS virus out of the center’s Biocontainment Level 3 (BL3) lab (China calls it a P3 lab), and conducted further testing in a regular, less protected lab.
Due to the leak, there were nine cases of infection in Beijing and Anhui Province. The World Health Organization (WHO) also sent specialists to participate in the investigation of the leak.
Related postings on Chinascope:
- Virus Origin: Patient “No. Zero” Had Symptoms on Dec 1
- Virus Origin: Who Was Patient “No. Zero”?
- Virus Origin: Genome Analysis of the New Wuhan Coronavirus Found Viral Sequences Suspicious of Laboratory Engineering
1. Excerpt in Chinese:
中新社北京七月一日电(记者曾利明)今年北京、安徽非典疫情来源已查明，确认原因是实验室内感染。中国疾控中心主任李立明、副主任杨晓光等因对非典病毒管理不善负有重要领导责任，引咎辞职。
Source: China News Agency, July 1, 2004
http://www.chinanews.com/news/2004year/2004-07-01/26/454882.shtml
2. Excerpt in Chinese:
本報北京7月1日訊 記者白劍峰報道：衛生部今天公布北京、安徽發生非典疫情原因調查結果。WHO的專家參與了部分調查工作。
2004年春節過后，任某多次從三級生物安全防護實驗室帶出未經嚴格驗証效果的滅活SARS病毒在普通實驗室進行實驗，時間上與宋某、楊某發病吻合。
Source: People’s Daily, July 1, 2004
http://www.people.com.cn/BIG5/shizheng/1026/2611676.html