Bat virus was shipped to Wuhan laboratory before Covid outbreak, emails show

Wuhan scientists were studying viral samples of high-risk bat species living in Laos - the country where the closest relative to Covid-19 has been found, leaked documents show. In September, researchers discovered a viral strain called Banal-52 in Laos, which shares 96.8 per cent of its genome with Sars-CoV-2 - boosting claims that the pandemic was caused by a natural spillover event, rather than a laboratory leak. However, it remained unclear how a bat-borne virus from Laos could have ended up sparking an outbreak in Wuhan, more than 1,000 miles away. Now, leaked emails between EcoHealth Alliance and US government…