Advertisement
Chinese Covid-19 genetic data in US archive was removed in June 2020, virologist finds
- The sequences, now recovered, add to the limited genetic data available from the early phase of the pandemic
- Data had been removed at the request of the scientist who submitted it, but details of the sequences are included in a published paper by Wuhan team
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
99+
Virus sequences from early Covid-19 patients in China were removed from a US database last year at the request of the scientist who submitted them, according to the US National Institutes of Health.
The NIH confirmed on Wednesday that its staff had removed the sequences in June 2020, three months after they had been uploaded to the online US government-run genetic sequence archive. Archive rules allow researchers to ask to withdraw their submissions.
It made the disclosure after virologist Jesse Bloom, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, said he recovered genetic sequences that were collected by a team from Wuhan University in January and February 2020 but had been removed.
Advertisement
The sequences – from Wuhan, the coronavirus outbreak’s initial epicentre – could hint at more undisclosed data and help shed light on the outbreak’s early stages, Bloom said.
05:08
Nature or lab leak? Why tracing the origin of Covid-19 matters
Nature or lab leak? Why tracing the origin of Covid-19 matters
But the details of the sequences, including their exact mutations, were included in a paper published by the Wuhan University researchers last June, which remains online.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x