Incredible but true: As researchers scramble to find a cure for the coronavirus, conspiracy theories keep spreading. On social networks, there is one that is favored by conspirators: the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus (responsible for the Covid-19 disease) would have been created in the laboratory by clumsy … or unscrupulous scientists. According to an Ifop survey carried out on a representative sample of the French population at the end of March 2020, 26% of French people would be convinced that the coronavirus was created in the laboratory – 17% think that it was manufactured “intentionally“and 9%”accidentally“.
HIV and coronavirus. In an interview at the site Why doctor?, on April 16, Professor Montagnier explains that he does not believe that the Covid-19 comes from contamination in a market in Wuhan. According to him, “the coronavirus came out of a Chinese lab with HIV DNA“. Let us recall that, for several years, the Nobel Prize for medicine has developed controversial theories, in particular on the origin and transmission of HIV, on homeopathy or on vaccination.
“Work on coronaviruses has indeed been carried out in the Wuhan laboratories, in particular following the epidemics of SARS (in 2002) and MERS (in 2012), in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH, in the United States) in particular, recognizes Dr. Jacques Fiorentino, doctor. However, at this time, there is no indication that the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus was created in the laboratory. It seems to me that today, the priority is to fight against this global epidemic: this is not the time to look for the culprits, to develop explanations without precise data and even less to allow the spread of conspiracy theories obviously anxiety-inducing.“
Is there a link between HIV and the coronavirus? “To date, no expert on AIDS has highlighted this data., objected Dr. Fiorentino. In France, we have many internationally recognized experts.“
Was the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus designed in the laboratory? “No“responds categorically Dr. Jacques Fiorentino.”Using experimental models, the researchers were able to reconstruct the path of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus : if specialists are not yet 100% sure of its exact origins, the coronavirus has indeed passed from animals to humans.“
A statement confirmed by an international study, conducted by British, American and Australian researchers, published on March 17, 2020 in the journal Nature : “our analyzes clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a deliberately modified virus“the scientists conclude. Clear.
Could the SARS-Cov-2 virus “escape” from a laboratory? Unlikely, according to Dr. Jacques Fiorentino: “the level of safety of a virology laboratory is even higher than that of a nuclear power plant. Moreover, to respond to the conspirators who bet on an awkwardness of the army, it is mainly bacteria that are studied in the military (as in “bacteriological weapon”) – however, as its name suggests, the coronavirus is a virus.“
Get informed, yes, but not all the time and not just any old way!
Since no serious publication supports the hypothesis of a virus created in the laboratory, why are conspiracy theories so publicized? “From a psychological point of view, it is reassuring to have a culprit to blame when you are in uncertainty., analyzes Dr. Fiorentino. During the 14th century plague epidemic, for example, the Jewish populations were accused: it is a human reflex to want to blame someone.“
But other more down-to-earth elements also play a role: “conspirators find it strange that the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus was so quickly identified by researchers, compared to the AIDS virus, for example, which took more than a year of study, emphasizes Dr. Fiorentino. But what must be understood is that this coronavirus belongs to a family (the Coronaviridae) that we know well, following the epidemics of SARS and MERS. We already had all the keys in hand to identify it.“
Besides, “the (many) gray areas that remain as to the origins of this virus are fueling conspiracy theories. They are particularly linked to the country from which the epidemic spread around the world: in China, information (even scientific) is locked, which means that we do not know exactly when the first case of Covid-19, how many patients died, on what date did the virus appear …“The freedom to inform, the first bulwark against fake news!
The doctor’s advice? “It’s tempting to get stuck in a non-stop news channel during these difficult times. But I believe that saturation tends to dull the critical sense: the more information we swallow, the less we are able to distinguish between what is reliable and what is fanciful. I therefore recommend a “time” in the day devoted to information (an hour or two is enough) with reliable sources (ideally scientific). We must also accept that, for the moment, we do not know everything: do not succumb to the temptation to “fill the void” with eccentric theories!“
Thanks to Dr. Jacques Fiorentino, ex-emergency physician (SAMU and SOS Médecins), ex-instructor for the French Red Cross.
Read also :
- Coronavirus: a questionnaire to assess yourself online
- Coronavirus and blood group: what we know
- Coronavirus in children: 3 things to know
