Thousands of social media users are sharing pre-outbreak coronavirus patents, sparking unfounded conspiracy theories. In reality, these documents pertain to other viruses in the same family.
As of this Monday, the novel coronavirus outbreak in China has claimed 81 lives with 2,816 confirmed cases. However, experts warn this may be a significant undercount. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong, using mathematical models, estimate over 44,000 people could already be infected, many in the asymptomatic incubation phase and unknowingly contagious.
Epidemiological evidence strongly points to Wuhan, in eastern China, as the origin. Yet, online rumors persist with alternative explanations.
Claims that 2019-nCoV was engineered years ago—often citing a 2015 patent—are gaining traction on social media. These assertions are false.
Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses affecting mammals and birds, most causing only mild illnesses.
Only three have triggered major human outbreaks: SARS (2002-2003, 774 deaths worldwide), MERS (2012-2015, 458 deaths), and now 2019-nCoV (81 deaths to date).
The much-discussed 2015 patent from the Pirbright Institute targets a different coronavirus: avian infectious bronchitis virus, which impacts poultry, not humans.
Other cited patents also reference unrelated strains, such as the SARS-CoV patent from 2003, linked to the 2002-2003 epidemic.
Patenting modified virus strains is standard practice in research. Labs do this to develop vaccines or treatments by safely working with weakened or altered pathogens.
The Pirbright Institute's 2015 patent, for instance, protects their breakthrough in lab-isolating the avian virus—a key step toward potential poultry vaccines.
No vaccine exists yet for 2019-nCoV. However, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has launched three partnerships for rapid development: U.S.-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Australia's University of Queensland, and Moderna (collaborating with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).
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