Canada Sent Nipah Virus to Wuhan; Lab Conducts ‘Most Dangerous Research’ on Nipah, Scientist Testifies to US Senate

Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of COVID-19 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Feb. 3, 2021. Thomas Peter/Reuters

A U.S. scientist recently testified at a U.S. Senate hearing that his research provides evidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) has conducted synthetic biology research on the deadly Nipah virus. Some scientists are expressing concern about Canada sending Nipah and Ebola viruses to a lab potentially engaged in such research.

“The Nipah virus is a smaller virus than SARS2 [virus causing COVID-19] and is much less transmissible. But it is one of the deadliest viruses, with a greater than 60 percent lethality. This is 60-times deadlier than SARS2,” Dr. Steven Quay, a Seattle-based physician-scientist, told a Senate subcommittee at an Aug. 3 hearing.