A "highly evolved" strain of polio may have been leaked from the same Chinese lab believed to have leaked the COVID-19 virus, the Daily Mail reports.
A new study found the strain, which infected a 4-year-old boy in China's Anhui province in 2014, is "99%" identical to a variant that was stored 200 miles away at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The boy's infection came amid a wider viral outbreak in Anhui province.
Molecular biologist Richard Ebright told Dailymail.com, "The findings underscore the shocking unsafe state of global virology research."
Researchers said it's unclear if the strain they're calling WIV14 did in fact come from the Wuhan lab, but say its origins must be investigated.
Scientists from the Pasteur Institute in Paris believe WIV14 likely evolved from a 1950s strain of the virus used mostly in lab settings and for producing vaccines, but they can't be certain it's from Wuhan. However, there are reasons for their suspicions, including Anhui province's relative proximity to Wuhan and the lab's reputation for lax safety protocols.
If the polio strain can be traced to the state-run Chinese lab, it would be just the latest among a series of safety lapses. Last year, the Biden administration slashed funding for the lab as it faced congressional scrutiny over its role in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although polio has mostly been eradicated worldwide over the past 50 years, cases continue to pop up in conflict zones like Gaza, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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