Thread by @Ayjchan

This is an archived page of the Wuhan Institute of Virology 野生动物携带病毒病原特色数据库 database backend h/t @C_Small_

It lists the date, # independent IPs, # visitors, page visits, # requests, and downloads (GB). These ground to a halt in Sep 2019.
archive.md/9MNVZ

@C_Small_ Interestingly, the database interface page was visited from outside of China as well during this period:

Unfortunately, because the database's public interface page has been removed, it's not easy to tell what was originally there.

A public description of the interface had been archived:
archive.fo/jPPkB

I believe this is the same database as the one referred to in the 2018 cables covered by @joshrogin

It was meant to be a prototype for the Global Virome Project. To predict and inform us on potential and emerging pandemic pathogens.

https://twitter.com/Ayjchan/status/1284904097448067074

But when a real pandemic happened, even close collaborators, i.e., the EcoHealth Alliance did not produce these data to help inform us about the novel pandemic pathogen.

If collaborators had been able to access just the RdRp fragment sequences in this collection, they might've known in Jan 2020 (once the sequence of SARS-CoV-2 was released) that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was in possession of 9 closest relatives to SARS2 at the time.

Recently, @techreview published an article saying that the database was taken offline in Feb 2020 as opposed to Sep 2019. I'd like to see the evidence substantiating this.

It makes no sense that outsiders would've predicted the pandemic & began to hack the database in Sep 2019.

@techreview Whether the database was truly taken offline in Sep 2019 because of hacking or not, this doesn't mean the Wuhan scientists could not share their database/data with its close collaborators spanning numerous countries.

Since, you know, a pandemic was happening.

@techreview When an investigation of the #OriginOfCovid is finally launched, I think this is a key point for follow up, particularly with close research collaborators who seemed to have accessed the database from outside of China in 2019.

@techreview There are some claims about other missing pathogen databases but I have not been able to verify these to an extent that makes me feel confident about including them in a book.

I mean it when I say that I fact-checked the content of VIRAL with my reputation on the line.

@techreview 3 outstanding questions:

1. Why was the database made unavailable in Sep 2019? Can't be because of covid-related hacking.

2. Why was it not shared with close collaborators in an actual pandemic?

3. Why haven't any close collaborators come forward with info about the database?