![coronavirus]()
It’s no secret that researchers around the world have been,
and still are, working with coronaviruses for years, including SARS-CoV-2,
which causes COVID-19. What has been secret until just recently is that
sometime between April 1, 2020, and May 6, 2020, a COVID-19-infected mouse bit
one of those researchers.
Even worse, that bite occurred in a high-security BSL-3
virus lab that is supposed to maintain the highest levels of infection
containment protocols in labs studying infectious diseases. The incident drew
the attention of Edward Hammond of Prickly Research, an NGO that’s been
tracking the U.S. Biodefense program since 9/11.
“It is evident that swarms of academic researchers with
little prior experience with coronaviruses have leapt into the field in recent
months,” Hammond said. The risk of further lab accidents grows higher as the
number of labs and researchers working with the virus grows, he added.
SOURCE: Independent
Science News August 13, 2020