China-Coronavirus/Wuhan Lab/Researcher Interview 3

Researcher dismisses lab origin conspiracy theories, details timeline of virus discovery

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Shotlist


FILE: Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - April 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Wuhan Institute of Virology
2. Nameplate of Wuhan Institute of Virology of Chinese Academy of Sciences

FILE: Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - March 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of scientists doing experiments

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (partially overlaid by shot 5):
"We obtained samples on the afternoon of December 30, 2019, and our team first carried out coronavirus studies on the samples, which were thought to be samples from a pneumonia of an unknown cause, since my laboratory has long been working on coronavirus research. Meanwhile, we've performed high-throughput sequencing of the samples and the isolation of pathogens. And then in a very short time, we determined that there is a new type of coronavirus in these samples and obtained its whole genome sequence, which proves that this pathogen's sequence is not the same as the existing virus's we already knew. So we named it a novel coronavirus. Later, we, along with two other medical institutes in our country submitted the whole genome sequence of the virus to the World Health Organization on January 12, 2020. At the same time, we also uploaded other sequences to a gene library called GISAID, which is used by governments and scientists around the world to identify pathogens, to develop vaccines and screen drugs."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
5. China Global Television Network reporter Feng Yilei
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Beijing, China - Jan 26, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland
6. Information of novel coronavirus on webpage
7. Images of novel coronavirus

FILE: Geneva, Switzerland - April 1, 2020 (WHO - Access All)
8. Various of WHO headquarters

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences:
"The work we did earlier is only part of the pathogen identification in which we can know its genetic information and what kind of virus it is. But in fact, for pathogen identification, another important step is animal infection experiments. These experiments are actually part of what's called Koch's postulates. Only through animal infection experiments can we finally determine that a certain pathogen is the main cause of a certain disease. Since we have an animal model, we can use it to quickly do the experiments."

FILE: Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - March 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of researchers sorting out samples

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ending with shot 12):
"In fact, we completed an animal infection experiment with transgenic mice back on February 6, 2020. It proved that this animal can simulate some pneumonia symptoms consistent with human infected with COVID-19. Then we completed the animal infection experiment of rhesus monkeys on February 9. Both two animal infection experiments proved that the coronavirus isolated by us was a cause of the unexplained pneumonia."

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - February 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of mice in box
13. Various of researchers at work

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
14. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences:
"Next, I will basically continue some of the previous work, such as exploring unknown pathogens. We know that there are actually many types of bats all over the world, as well as wild animals. The unknown viruses that we have discovered are actually just the tip of the iceberg. If we want to protect humans from viruses or avoid a second outbreak of new infectious diseases, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and then give early warnings. And we must be able to store some drugs and reagents for detection, prevention or treatment for future prevention and control."

FILE: Beijing, China - January 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
15. Various of researchers working in lab

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
16. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences:
"These viruses exist in nature whether we admit it or not. If we don't study them, there will possibly be another outbreak, and we wouldn't know them."

Storyline


A leading researcher from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has debunked conspiracy theories surrounding the origins of COVID-19 by detailing the timeline of tireless work carried out by the lab which saw the discovery of the new type of coronavirus, and has vowed her team will continue its crucial research at the facility.

Shi Zhengli, a top virologist at the lab, has hailed the work of her colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, while listing the efforts that were made to investigate the cases of unexplained viral pneumonia which emerged late last year.

During a recent interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Shi provided a detailed timeline of the institute's response to COVID-19, chronicling the main facts and actions it has taken in the anti-virus fight and debunking some of the widely-refuted conspiracy theories surrounding the virus.

"We obtained samples on the afternoon of December 30, 2019, and our team first carried out coronavirus studies on the samples, which were thought to be samples from a pneumonia of an unknown cause, since my laboratory has long been working on coronavirus research. Meanwhile, we've performed high-throughput sequencing of the samples and the isolation of pathogens. And then in a very short time, we determined that there is a new type of coronavirus in these samples and obtained its whole genome sequence, which proves that this pathogen's sequence is not the same as the existing virus's we already knew. So we named it a novel coronavirus," she said.

Shi said her institute was always committed to transparency and shared all available data about the coronavirus with the world in a timely fashion, noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) was well-informed about the breakthroughs which had been made at an early stage.

"Later, we, along with two other medical institutes in our country submitted the whole genome sequence of the virus to the World Health Organization on January 12, 2020. At the same time, we also uploaded other sequences to a gene library called GISAID, which is used by governments and scientists around the world to identify pathogens, to develop vaccines and screen drugs," she noted.

However, Shi said that sequencing the genome of the virus and sharing it with the world was far from the end of her work. She explained how more tests were conducted by her experienced team to further identify the causes of the deadly disease.

"The work we did earlier is only part of the pathogen identification in which we can know its genetic information and what kind of virus it is. But in fact, for pathogen identification, another important step is animal infection experiments. These experiments are actually part of what's called Koch's postulates. Only through animal infection experiments can we finally determine that a certain pathogen is the main cause of a certain disease. Since we have an animal model, we can use it to quickly do the experiments," she said.

"In fact, we completed an animal infection experiment with transgenic mice back on February 6, 2020. It proved that this animal can simulate some pneumonia symptoms consistent with human infected with COVID-19. Then we completed the animal infection experiment of rhesus monkeys on February 9. Both two animal infection experiments proved that the coronavirus isolated by us was a cause of the unexplained pneumonia," she added.

Shi noted that the wide scientific consensus reached among most global scientists is that the coronavirus evolved naturally from animals, adding that her future work will be focused on this area while continuing investigations into unknown viruses.

"Next, I will basically continue some of the previous work, such as exploring unknown pathogens. We know that there are actually many types of bats all over the world, as well as wild animals. The unknown viruses that we have discovered are actually just the tip of the iceberg. If we want to protect humans from viruses or avoid a second outbreak of new infectious diseases, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and then give early warnings. And we must be able to store some drugs and reagents for detection, prevention or treatment for future prevention and control," she said.

Shi said her work now is to find the viruses before they find humans.

"These viruses exist in nature whether we admit it or not. If we don't study them, there will possibly be another outbreak, and we wouldn't know them," said Shi.

DOWNLOAD
  • ID : 8144251
  • Dateline : Recent/File
  • Location : China
  • Category : health
  • Duration : 5'06
  • Audio Language : Chinese/Nats/Part Mute
  • Source : China Central Television (CCTV)
  • Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
  • Published : 2020-05-25 15:40
  • Last Modified : 2020-05-26 09:03:00
  • Version : 4
  • ID : 8144251
  • Dateline : Récent/Archives
  • Location : Chine
  • Category : health
  • Duration : 5'06
  • Audio Language : Chinois/Nats/Partiellement muet
  • Source : China Central Television (CCTV),China Global Television Network (CGTN)
  • Restrictions : Pas d’accès dans la partie continentale de Chine
  • Published : 2020-05-25 21:24
  • Last Modified : 2020-05-26 09:03:00
  • Version : 4
  • ID : 8144251
  • Dateline : Reciente/Archivo
  • Location : China
  • Category : health
  • Duration : 5'06
  • Audio Language : Chino/Nats/Parte Muda
  • Source : China Central Television (CCTV)
  • Restrictions : No acceso a la parte continental de China
  • Published : 2020-05-25 21:27
  • Last Modified : 2020-05-26 09:03:00
  • Version : 4

China-Coronavirus/Wuhan Lab/Researcher Interview 3

Researcher dismisses lab origin conspiracy theories, details timeline of virus discovery

Dateline : Recent/File

Location : China

Duration : 5'06

  • English
  • Français
  • Español


FILE: Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - April 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Wuhan Institute of Virology
2. Nameplate of Wuhan Institute of Virology of Chinese Academy of Sciences

FILE: Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - March 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of scientists doing experiments

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (partially overlaid by shot 5):
"We obtained samples on the afternoon of December 30, 2019, and our team first carried out coronavirus studies on the samples, which were thought to be samples from a pneumonia of an unknown cause, since my laboratory has long been working on coronavirus research. Meanwhile, we've performed high-throughput sequencing of the samples and the isolation of pathogens. And then in a very short time, we determined that there is a new type of coronavirus in these samples and obtained its whole genome sequence, which proves that this pathogen's sequence is not the same as the existing virus's we already knew. So we named it a novel coronavirus. Later, we, along with two other medical institutes in our country submitted the whole genome sequence of the virus to the World Health Organization on January 12, 2020. At the same time, we also uploaded other sequences to a gene library called GISAID, which is used by governments and scientists around the world to identify pathogens, to develop vaccines and screen drugs."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
5. China Global Television Network reporter Feng Yilei
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: Beijing, China - Jan 26, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland
6. Information of novel coronavirus on webpage
7. Images of novel coronavirus

FILE: Geneva, Switzerland - April 1, 2020 (WHO - Access All)
8. Various of WHO headquarters

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences:
"The work we did earlier is only part of the pathogen identification in which we can know its genetic information and what kind of virus it is. But in fact, for pathogen identification, another important step is animal infection experiments. These experiments are actually part of what's called Koch's postulates. Only through animal infection experiments can we finally determine that a certain pathogen is the main cause of a certain disease. Since we have an animal model, we can use it to quickly do the experiments."

FILE: Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - March 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of researchers sorting out samples

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ending with shot 12):
"In fact, we completed an animal infection experiment with transgenic mice back on February 6, 2020. It proved that this animal can simulate some pneumonia symptoms consistent with human infected with COVID-19. Then we completed the animal infection experiment of rhesus monkeys on February 9. Both two animal infection experiments proved that the coronavirus isolated by us was a cause of the unexplained pneumonia."

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - February 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of mice in box
13. Various of researchers at work

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
14. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences:
"Next, I will basically continue some of the previous work, such as exploring unknown pathogens. We know that there are actually many types of bats all over the world, as well as wild animals. The unknown viruses that we have discovered are actually just the tip of the iceberg. If we want to protect humans from viruses or avoid a second outbreak of new infectious diseases, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and then give early warnings. And we must be able to store some drugs and reagents for detection, prevention or treatment for future prevention and control."

FILE: Beijing, China - January 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
15. Various of researchers working in lab

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
16. SOUNDBITE(Chinese) Shi Zhengli, lead researcher, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences:
"These viruses exist in nature whether we admit it or not. If we don't study them, there will possibly be another outbreak, and we wouldn't know them."


A leading researcher from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has debunked conspiracy theories surrounding the origins of COVID-19 by detailing the timeline of tireless work carried out by the lab which saw the discovery of the new type of coronavirus, and has vowed her team will continue its crucial research at the facility.

Shi Zhengli, a top virologist at the lab, has hailed the work of her colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, while listing the efforts that were made to investigate the cases of unexplained viral pneumonia which emerged late last year.

During a recent interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Shi provided a detailed timeline of the institute's response to COVID-19, chronicling the main facts and actions it has taken in the anti-virus fight and debunking some of the widely-refuted conspiracy theories surrounding the virus.

"We obtained samples on the afternoon of December 30, 2019, and our team first carried out coronavirus studies on the samples, which were thought to be samples from a pneumonia of an unknown cause, since my laboratory has long been working on coronavirus research. Meanwhile, we've performed high-throughput sequencing of the samples and the isolation of pathogens. And then in a very short time, we determined that there is a new type of coronavirus in these samples and obtained its whole genome sequence, which proves that this pathogen's sequence is not the same as the existing virus's we already knew. So we named it a novel coronavirus," she said.

Shi said her institute was always committed to transparency and shared all available data about the coronavirus with the world in a timely fashion, noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) was well-informed about the breakthroughs which had been made at an early stage.

"Later, we, along with two other medical institutes in our country submitted the whole genome sequence of the virus to the World Health Organization on January 12, 2020. At the same time, we also uploaded other sequences to a gene library called GISAID, which is used by governments and scientists around the world to identify pathogens, to develop vaccines and screen drugs," she noted.

However, Shi said that sequencing the genome of the virus and sharing it with the world was far from the end of her work. She explained how more tests were conducted by her experienced team to further identify the causes of the deadly disease.

"The work we did earlier is only part of the pathogen identification in which we can know its genetic information and what kind of virus it is. But in fact, for pathogen identification, another important step is animal infection experiments. These experiments are actually part of what's called Koch's postulates. Only through animal infection experiments can we finally determine that a certain pathogen is the main cause of a certain disease. Since we have an animal model, we can use it to quickly do the experiments," she said.

"In fact, we completed an animal infection experiment with transgenic mice back on February 6, 2020. It proved that this animal can simulate some pneumonia symptoms consistent with human infected with COVID-19. Then we completed the animal infection experiment of rhesus monkeys on February 9. Both two animal infection experiments proved that the coronavirus isolated by us was a cause of the unexplained pneumonia," she added.

Shi noted that the wide scientific consensus reached among most global scientists is that the coronavirus evolved naturally from animals, adding that her future work will be focused on this area while continuing investigations into unknown viruses.

"Next, I will basically continue some of the previous work, such as exploring unknown pathogens. We know that there are actually many types of bats all over the world, as well as wild animals. The unknown viruses that we have discovered are actually just the tip of the iceberg. If we want to protect humans from viruses or avoid a second outbreak of new infectious diseases, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and then give early warnings. And we must be able to store some drugs and reagents for detection, prevention or treatment for future prevention and control," she said.

Shi said her work now is to find the viruses before they find humans.

"These viruses exist in nature whether we admit it or not. If we don't study them, there will possibly be another outbreak, and we wouldn't know them," said Shi.

ID : 8144251

Published : 2020-05-25 15:40

Last Modified : 2020-05-26 09:03:00

Source : China Central Television (CCTV)

Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland

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