Thread by @Ayjchan

Likely covid lab leak, Taiwan BSL3.
🇹🇼 is zero covid; straightforward to track lab origin of SARS2 infections.

Lab worker in their 20s, fully vax'ed (Moderna), symptoms for a week before testing, ~50 people in quarantine h/t @chasewnelson @spectralcodex
cna.com.tw/news/firstnews…

@chasewnelson @spectralcodex English report @keverington
taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4371080

Taiwan 🇹🇼 Central Epidemic Command Center doing an incredible job.

Case diagnosed, contacts traced and origin tracked in the same day by local experts.

Transparent reporting. Showing us how it's done.
cdc.gov.tw/Bulletin/Detai…

@chasewnelson @spectralcodex @keverington News update on the SARS-CoV-2 lab leak of a Delta variant from a Taiwan BSL3/P3 lab:

"A female researcher was bitten by a lab mouse while running experiments on COVID before testing positive for the virus"
taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4371212

@chasewnelson @spectralcodex @keverington I agree with the Taiwan CECC advisor "whether the infection was caused by this, we do not yet have a way to determine that, and further investigation is needed."

Careful investigation needed to find out how the lab-acquired infection occurred in order to prevent future leaks.

@chasewnelson @spectralcodex @keverington I know there are a few virologists who are incredibly skeptical of whether coronaviruses can transmit via bites or scratches, i.e., spread by blood.

For me and many safety committees, the point of recording these incidents is noting when the situation has gotten out of control.

@chasewnelson @spectralcodex @keverington Some lab animals are incredibly nimble. If you drop them after getting bitten, you'll spend hours chasing them around the room.

There are some old research buildings infested with escaped lab mice.

More updates on the SARS2 escape from a BSL3 lab.
"genomic sequence of the Delta variant contracted by an assistant researcher, case No. 16,816, matched that of the samples she had been experimenting on at the Academia Sinica's Genomics Research Center"
taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4372853

This story might initially feel embarrassing for Taiwan but I think they should be proud of how openly and honestly they have investigated and reported this lab escape.

They are narrowing down exactly how SARS2 escaped from a BSL3 so they can effectively address these problems.

If you don't know how a killer virus emerged in your country, how could you possibly take proper measures to prevent future outbreaks?

Finding the #OriginOfCovid is important to develop effectively measures against the types of scenarios that gave rise to this pandemic pathogen.

Countries with many labs studying SARS-CoV-2 are deluding themselves if they believe the virus has not escaped from their labs since the pandemic began.

It's just that most countries are overrun with Covid so it's hard to tell if a scientist was infected in the lab or outside.

Even in a BSL3: "some tables, doorknobs, and other surfaces had tested positive for COVID, while all tests on facilities outside the lab were negative. He said it was possible the scientist had contracted the virus from the lab environment rather than the mouse bite."

I heard a rumor that a US institute found its scientists running covid patient samples through flow cytometers at BSL2. Whether there was an investigation and what the outcomes were, I don't know.

That's why I think how Taiwan is handling its SARS2 lab escape is outstanding.

When SARS-CoV-2 infected a scientist in a Beijing lab, we only found out more than a year later through US emails obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.

This is not how lab-acquired infections should be reported.
usrtk.org/biohazards/sen…

I'll say this though. If a SARS1 x SARS2 chimera causes an outbreak, we will know it came from a lab.

https://twitter.com/Ayjchan/status/1468582694007279616?s=20