The Origin of the Virus: The hidden truths behind the microbe that killed millions of people

Ground-breaking, evidence-based book asks how many lives were lost because of Chinas negligence about lab-leaked SARS-CoV-2. In a disturbing reconstruction of events by two of the most reputable scientists in the world, a new book reveals for the first time how Chinese authorities and elite Wuhan scientists knew about SARS-CoV-2s menacing biological features from the start but remain silent to this day. In The Origin of the Virus (Clinical Press) Dr Steven Quay and Prof Angus Dalgleish, working with Italian reporter Paolo Barnard, show how China engaged in lies, omissions and obfuscations to cover up the laboratory origin of the virus. Had they immediately alerted the international community and policymakers of the extremely pathogenic molecular machinery present in SARS-CoV-2's genome, very large numbers of lives may have been spared, argue Quay, Dalgleish and Barnard. The authors provide a shocking account of the extreme experiments that led to the outbreak of the worst pandemic since the 1918 Spanish influenza. They broaden the censure to explain why some American and British scientists thwarted a proper investigation of the origin of COVID-19. Despite its impeccable scientific grounding the book is both a readable and gripping account that, for the first time, allows the public to partake in what lies at the heart of the many scandals surrounding the birth of the most deadly virus in modern times.

Review :
The beauty of this book lies in its totally convincing narrative in a concise and entirely readable form. As a lay person with regard to medical matters I found the introductory chapter by the man who put the project together, Paolo Barnard, both fascinating and compelling, reading like a particularly enthralling story. Then the science kicks in with some hard academic research from Professor Dalgleish examining the genome of the virus and the peculiar nature of the spike proteins put there by Gain of Function studies of concern. Although impeccable in its reasoning the matters were explained in terms that are fully understandable. Then follows a nice cheeky chapter from doctor/scientist Steven Quay at the end of the book which lays out in a wonderfully logical manner how a bookie might view the odds of either zoonosis or lab-leak as the origin of the virus causing the Covid-19 pandemic .... an analysis supported by something called Bayesian statistics. I have read other books on the same matter but in my opinion this is the best .... the rival tomes are too large, filled out by journalese or just plain wrong. Once you realise that the virus has been made in a unique way such that it can attack almost any cell in the human body you begin to understand the importance of preventative measures and also become angry that the dangerous Gain of Function studies are continuing and worried that unless they are stopped the next pandemic of a novel virus will be even worse. Anthony Lloyd, primary schoolteacher and musician in Bristol, England (Review in Caduceus)