72-764: The Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences ( WIV ; Chinese : 中国科学院武汉病毒研究所 ) is a research institute on virology administered by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which reports to the State Council of the People's Republic of China . The institute is one of nine independent organisations in the Wuhan Branch of the CAS. Located in Jiangxia District , Wuhan , Hubei , it
144-517: A SARS virus that had been adapted to grow in mice and mimic human disease. The hybrid virus was able to infect human cells. In 2017, a team from the institute announced that coronaviruses found in horseshoe bats at a cave in Yunnan contain all the genetic pieces of the SARS virus, and hypothesized that the direct progenitor of the human virus originated in this cave. The team, who spent five years sampling
216-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
288-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
360-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
432-468: A global network of leading laboratories to collaborate in the identification of the causative agent of SARS. Early on, labs in the network narrowed the search to members of the paramyxovirus and coronavirus families. Early findings shared by the labs pointed to coronaviruses with increasing consistency. On 21 March, scientists from the University of Hong Kong announced the isolation of a new virus that
504-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
576-573: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
648-419: A period of years, researchers from the institute sampled thousands of horseshoe bats in locations across China, isolating over 300 bat coronavirus sequences. In 2015, an international team including two scientists from the institute published successful research on whether a bat coronavirus could be made to infect a human cell line ( HeLa ). The team engineered a hybrid virus , combining a bat coronavirus with
720-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
792-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
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#1732783328010864-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
936-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
1008-410: Is unknown whether the virus was originally introduced to the market by civets, humans, or another animal. In 2005, two studies identified a number of SARS-like coronaviruses in Chinese bats . Although the bat SARS virus did not replicate in cell culture, in 2008, American researchers altered the genetic structure of bat SARS virus with the human receptor binding domain both in the bat virus and in
1080-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
1152-541: The 2002–2004 SARS outbreak . It is an enveloped , positive-sense , single-stranded RNA virus that infects the epithelial cells within the lungs. The virus enters the host cell by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 . It infects humans , bats , and palm civets . The SARS-CoV-1 outbreak was largely brought under control by simple public health measures. Testing people with symptoms (fever and respiratory problems), isolating and quarantining suspected cases, and restricting travel all had an effect. SARS-CoV-1
1224-556: The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the University of Hong Kong and the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention established a genetic link between the SARS coronavirus appearing in civets and humans, confirming claims that the virus might have transmitted from the animal species to humans. Infected palm civets at the market were traced to farms where no infected animals were found. It
1296-662: The Galveston National Laboratory in the University of Texas . It also had ties with Canada 's National Microbiology Laboratory until WIV staff scientists Xiangguo Qiu and her husband Keding Cheng, who were also remunerated by the Canadian government, were escorted from the Canadian lab for undisclosed reasons in July 2019. Researchers from the WIV have, in the past, collaborated with international scientists in
1368-431: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : SARS coronavirus Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 ( SARS-CoV-1 ), previously known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus ( SARS-CoV ), is a strain of coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS ), the respiratory illness responsible for
1440-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
1512-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
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#17327833280101584-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
1656-511: The 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
1728-661: The 218 local residents in the sample carried antibodies to the bat coronaviruses in their blood, indicating the possibility of transmission of the infections from bats to people. Prior to and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, coronavirus research at the WIV has been conducted in BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories. In December 2019, cases of pneumonia associated with an unknown coronavirus were reported to health authorities in Wuhan. The institute checked its coronavirus collection and found
1800-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
1872-832: The French government's CIRI lab ). The new laboratory building has 3000 m of BSL-4 space, and also 20 BSL-2 and two BSL-3 laboratories. The BSL-4 facilities were accredited by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) in January 2017, with the BSL-4 level lab put into operation in January 2018. The highest level biosafety installation is necessary because the institute investigates highly dangerous viruses, such as SARS , influenza H5N1 , Japanese encephalitis , and dengue . The National Bio-safety Laboratory has strong ties to
1944-844: The Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver finished mapping the genetic sequence of a coronavirus believed to be linked to SARS. The team was led by Marco Marra and Caroline Astell and worked in collaboration with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg , Manitoba , using samples from infected patients in Toronto . The map, hailed by
2016-794: The United States and the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Canada identified the SARS-CoV-1 genome in April 2003. Scientists at Erasmus University in Rotterdam , the Netherlands, demonstrated that the SARS coronavirus fulfilled Koch's postulates , thereby confirming it as the causative agent. In the experiments, macaques infected with the virus developed the same symptoms as human SARS patients. A virus very similar to SARS
2088-482: The United States. There have been allegations that the initial outbreak was provoked by either manipulation or accidental release of a virus held in the WIV facilities, and that the participants may have conspired to cover it up. Shi Zhengli denied that there was a connection between the WIV and the emergence of COVID-19. In February 2021, after investigations in Wuhan, the WHO team said a laboratory leak origin for COVID-19
2160-545: The WHO as an important step forward in fighting SARS, is shared with scientists worldwide via the GSC website (see below). Donald Low of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto described the discovery as having been made with "unprecedented speed". The sequence of the SARS coronavirus has since been confirmed by other independent groups. Molecular epidemiological research demonstrated the virus isolated in 2002–2003 in south China and
2232-1536: The Yunnan cave of WIV16 or in other yet-to-be-identified bat caves is considered highly likely. A phylogenetic tree based on whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-1 and related coronaviruses is: 16BO133 , 86.3% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum , North Jeolla , South Korea JTMC15 , 86.4% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum , Tonghua , Jilin Bat SARS CoV Rf1, 87.8% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum , Yichang , Hubei BtCoV HKU3, 87.9% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus sinicus , Hong Kong and Guangdong LYRa11 , 90.9% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus affinis , Baoshan , Yunnan Bat SARS-CoV/Rp3, 92.6% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus pearsoni , Nanning , Guangxi Bat SL-CoV YNLF_31C, 93.5% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum , Lufeng , Yunnan Bat SL-CoV YNLF_34C, 93.5% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum , Lufeng , Yunnan SHC014-CoV , 95.4% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus sinicus , Kunming , Yunnan WIV1 , 95.6% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus sinicus , Kunming , Yunnan WIV16 , 96.0% to SARS-CoV-1, Rhinolophus sinicus Kunming , Yunnan Civet SARS-CoV , 99.8% to SARS-CoV-1, Paguma larvata , market in Guangdong, China SARS-CoV-1 SARS-CoV-2 , 79% to SARS-CoV-1 SARS-CoV-1 follows
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2304-401: The administration. In June 1978, it was returned to the CAS and renamed Wuhan Institute of Virology. In 2003, the Chinese academy of Sciences approved the construction of mainland China's first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory at the WIV. In 2014, the WIV's National Bio-safety Laboratory was built at a cost of 300 million yuan (US$ 44 million), in collaboration and with assistance from
2376-484: The bats in the cave, noted the presence of a village only a kilometer away, and warned of "the risk of spillover into people and emergence of a disease similar to SARS". In 2018, another paper by a team from the institute reported the results of a serological study of a sample of villagers residing near these bat caves (near Xiyang Township 夕阳乡 in Jinning District of Yunnan). According to this report, 6 out of
2448-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
2520-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
2592-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
2664-421: The creation of chimeric coronavirus. Some researchers (notably Richard Ebright) believe this work falls under the definition of gain of function research, but many other experts dispute this classification. A number of safety precautions were taken into consideration when building the Wuhan lab. The lab was built far away from any flood plain. It was also built to withstand a magnitude-7 earthquake, even though
2736-476: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
2808-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
2880-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
2952-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
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3024-458: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
3096-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
3168-456: The institute found inhibited the virus in vitro . The WIV said it would not exercise its new Chinese patent rights "if relevant foreign companies intend to contribute to the prevention and control of China's epidemic." In April 2020, the Trump administration terminated an NIH grant to research how coronaviruses spread from bats to humans. New York-based, NIH–funded EcoHealth Alliance has been
3240-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
3312-642: The local market in Guangdong , China, found a strain of SARS coronavirus could be isolated from masked palm civets ( Paguma sp.), but the animals did not always show clinical signs. The preliminary conclusion was the SARS virus crossed the species barrier from palm civet to humans, and more than 10,000 masked palm civets were killed in Guangdong Province. The virus was also later found in raccoon dogs ( Nyctereuteus sp.), ferret badgers ( Melogale spp.), and domestic cats. In 2004, scientists from
3384-401: The mice which demonstrated how zoonosis might occur in evolution. Phylogenetic analysis of these viruses indicated a high probability that SARS coronavirus originated in bats and spread to humans either directly or through animals held in Chinese markets. The bats did not show any visible signs of disease, but are the likely natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses. Bats are likely to be
3456-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
3528-511: The natural reservoir, that is, the host that harbored the pathogen but that does not show ill effects and serves as a source of infection. No direct progenitor of SARS-CoV was found in bat populations, but WIV16 was found in a cave in Xiyang Yi Ethnic Township , Yunnan, China between 2013 and 2016, and has a 96% genetically similar virus strain. The hypothesis that SARS-CoV-1 emerged through recombinations of bat SARSr-CoVs in
3600-429: The new virus had 96% genetic similarity to RaTG13 , a virus its researchers had discovered in horseshoe bats in southwest China. As the virus spread worldwide, the institute continued its investigation. In February 2020, a team led by Shi Zhengli at the institute were the first to identify, analyze and name the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) , upload it to public databases for scientists around
3672-447: The onset of respiratory symptoms, mainly cough, dyspnea , and pneumonia . Another common finding in SARS patients is a decrease in the number of lymphocytes circulating in the blood. In the SARS outbreak of 2003, about 9% of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-1 infection died. The mortality rate was much higher for those over 60 years old, with mortality rates approaching 50% for this subset of patients. In March 2003, WHO established
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#17327833280103744-475: The origins of COVID-19. The scientific opinion that an accidental leak is possible, but unlikely, has remained steady. The Institute contains the following research centers: Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write the Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during
3816-642: The pace and scale of China's plans for expansion into BSL-4 laboratories, called the institute a "world-class research institution that does world-class research in virology and immunology" while he noted that the WIV is a world leader in the study of bat coronaviruses. In 2005, a group including researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology published research into the origin of the SARS coronavirus , finding that China's horseshoe bats are natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses. Continuing this work over
3888-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
3960-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
4032-582: The region has no history of earthquakes. Many Wuhan lab staff were trained at a BSL-4 lab in Lyon, France. Researchers were also trained in Australia, Canada, the United States and then in-house before the lab was operational. Scientists such as U.S. molecular biologist Richard H. Ebright , who had expressed concern of previous escapes of the SARS virus at Chinese laboratories in Beijing and had been troubled by
4104-456: The replication strategy typical of the coronavirus subfamily. The primary human receptor of the virus is angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and hemaglutinin (HE), first identified in 2003. Human SARS-CoV-1 appears to have had a complex history of recombination between ancestral coronaviruses that were hosted in several different animal groups. In order for recombination to happen at least two SARS-CoV-1 genomes must be present in
4176-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
4248-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
4320-517: The subject of controversy and increased scrutiny due to its ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Under political pressure, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) withdrew funding to EcoHealth Alliance in July 2020. The laboratory has been the focus of conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated speculation about the origin of the virus. This has been a source of political tension between China and other countries, including Australia and
4392-497: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
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#17327833280104464-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
4536-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
4608-471: The virus isolated in the same area in late 2003 and early 2004 are different, indicating separate species-crossing events. The phylogeny of the outbreak strains shows that the southwestern provinces including Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi compare to the human SARS-CoV-1 better than those of the other provinces, but the viruses' evolution is a product of the host interaction and particularity. In late May 2003, studies from samples of wild animals sold as food in
4680-454: The world to understand, and publish papers in Nature . On 19 February 2020, the lab released a letter on its website describing how they successfully obtained the whole virus genome. In February 2020, in a move that raised concerns regarding intellectual property rights, the institute applied for a patent in China for the use of remdesivir , an experimental drug owned by Gilead Sciences , which
4752-419: Was "extremely unlikely", confirming what experts expected about the likely origins and early transmission. However, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the report's conclusions were not definitive and data had been withheld from investigators. In response to the report, politicians, including Joe Biden and Boris Johnson , as well as Ghebreyesus, have called for further investigations into
4824-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
4896-496: Was discovered in late 2019. This virus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the causative pathogen of COVID-19 , the propagation of which started the COVID-19 pandemic . Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the disease caused by SARS-CoV-1. It causes an often severe illness and is marked initially by systemic symptoms of muscle pain , headache , and fever , followed in 2–14 days by
4968-542: Was founded in 1956 and opened mainland China's first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory in 2018. The institute has collaborated with the Galveston National Laboratory in the United States, the Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie in France, and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Canada. The institute has been an active premier research center for the study of coronaviruses . The WIV
5040-753: Was founded in 1956 as the Wuhan Microbiology Laboratory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It was established by scientists Gao Shangyin, a graduate of Soochow University (Suzhou) , and Chen Huagui. In 1961, it became the South China Institute of Microbiology, and in 1962 was renamed Wuhan Microbiology Institute. In 1970, it became the Microbiology Institute of Hubei Province when the Hubei Commission of Science and Technology took over
5112-588: Was most transmissible when patients were sick, so its spread could be effectively suppressed by isolating patients with symptoms. On April 16, 2003, following the outbreak of SARS in Asia and secondary cases elsewhere in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a press release stating that the coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the official cause of SARS. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in
5184-449: Was strongly suspected to be the causative agent of SARS. Epidemiological evidence suggested a zoonotic origin of the virus: more than 33% of the first detected cases of SARS in Guangdong corresponded to animal or food handlers. Seroprevalence studies reinforced this zoonotic link (a high proportion of asymptomatic animal handlers at markets in Guangdong Province had antibodies against SARS-CoV). On April 12, 2003, scientists working at
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