Nobel-winning virologist says coronavirus was created in Wuhan's lab
What's the story
Luc Antoine Montagnier, the French virologist who had won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine, has claimed the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is man-made.
Montagnier has said that the virus was created in Wuhan's lab, further fanning the theories that suggest the virus leaked out to the world and China is knowingly responsible for it.
Here's more on what he said.
Claim
Novel coronavirus 'developed' for HIV AIDS vaccine
In a recent interview with CNews and during a podcast by Pourquoi Docteur, Montagnier made the claim that the virus is the result of an attempt to create a vaccine for the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
He added that the elements of HIV and germ of malaria in the genome of the novel coronavirus are "highly suspect" and "could not have arisen naturally".
Details
'Industrial accident' at the lab
Adding more to the claims, Montagnier said that an 'industrial accident' had also taken place in the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory.
"The Wuhan city laboratory has specialized in these coronaviruses since the early 2000s. They have expertise in this area," he said, while making the comments about the possibility of the man-made origin of the virus and spread from the city.
Work
Montagnier co-discovered the HIV
Though Montagnier did not share any scientific evidence to back up the claims, his expertise in HIV has led many to consider the possibility of the virus being created to develop a vaccine for the AIDS virus.
The scientist, to recall, had won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Harald Zur Hausen for the discovery of HIV.
Response
However, researchers have already rebuffed his claim
Meanwhile, the scientific community has already started rebuffing Montagnier's claims, saying that "it does not make sense".
"These are very small elements that are found in other viruses of the same family," said Étienne SimonLorière, another French virologist, while debunking the Nobel-winning researcher's theory.
The World Health Organization has also maintained that there is no evidence that the virus came from a Chinese lab.
Twitter Post
Here's another response to Dr. Montagnier's theory
Just in case you don’t know. Dr Montagnier has been rolling downhill incredibly fast in the last few years. From baselessly defending homeopathy to becoming an antivaxxer. Whatever he says, just don’t believe him. https://t.co/omqZucsz8b
— Juan Carlos Gabaldon (@JuanCGabaldon) April 18, 2020
Investigation
US looking into possibility of man-made origin
Separately, the possibility that the novel coronavirus 'escaped' from the Wuhan lab is being investigated by the US, President Trump had said, noting that there would be consequences if it is found that China was knowingly responsible for its origin or spread.
However, the Chinese government and the Chief of the lab itself have repeatedly denied the allegations.
Information
So far, over 1.7 lakh people have died from coronavirus
More than 1.7 lakh people have died from the novel coronavirus around the world while more than 24 lakh have been infected. In India, too, more than 500 people have passed away due to the spread of the deadly virus.