[ggm]

Why do you think there is a virology lab looking at zoonotic diseases in Wuhan? Is it not likely that a high prevalence of zoonotic disease there, historically, has led to specific interest? Why is the Durham county hospital causing all this coal miners black lung disease!

Why does the Liverpool school of tropical hygiene and medicine cause this huge spike in non indigenous malaria!

Seriously: the wuhan virology lab is there, because the problem is there.

[peytn]

I’m not so sure because Wuhan is on an alluvial plain and thus probably doesn’t have too many bats relative to other places. The han in Wuhan is the same as the Han people, so it’s a safe bet that Wuhan is a hub for culture and education. So, and I’m guessing here, a likely reason that Wuhan was chosen for SARS work is because it’s an academic hub that isn’t Shanghai or Beijing.