‘Not lying, truth is…’: Scientist who found Wuhan Covid data speaks out
China Covid Origin: The scientist- Florence Débarre- posted her findings last week to bring forward the origins of the pandemic.
A scientist from Paris stumbled upon Covid genetic data which was taken from swabs taken at the Huanan seafood market in China's Wuhan just weeks after the virus first emerged. The data suddenly vanished from public view later but the accidental discovery led to confirmation for the first time that animals susceptible to Covid were present at the Wuhan market.
Read more: Fired H1B staffers need to leave in 60 days? US Immigration Services says this
The scientist- Florence Débarre- posted her findings last week to bring forward the origins of the pandemic. Since the publication of the data, Florence Débarre has faced threats to her safety, a report said.
“Last night, I was crying over the horrible things I’m reading about myself on social media,” Florence Débarre who is a senior researcher at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research told the Guardian.
“It’s horrible to have people discuss the fact you may be lying, when you’re not lying. When you have a profession in which being truthful is essential," she further said.
She said that she found the initial data when she was searching on Gisaid, a virology database. The data included thousands of raw genetic sequences from swabs that Chinese scientists had taken in early 2020.
Read more: China loans to Pak, Lanka and other nations worth $240bn in 2 decades: Report
“It was the Latin name for raccoon dog, multiple times. It was one of the greatest emotions of my life," she said as it was found that raccoon dogs are highly susceptible to coronavirus infection. Although, there is still no conclusive proof that raccoon dogs in Wuhan were carrying the virus, she said, “But now it cannot be denied that they were there."
When she and her team reached out to the Chinese scientists who posted the data online to ask their permission to analyse it, it was granted. But the data was later removed, she claimed. “We were shocked. But not surprised," the scientist said, adding, “It’s a complicated story. The short answer is that we’re not collaborating right now. But that collaboration was offered [by her team].”
