China Claims US E-Cigarettes as Origin of COVID-19 [Correspondent Diary]

2019 US E-Cigarette Lung Disease Patient Lung CT Images Similar to Severe COVID-19 Patient Photos
Cause and Contagiousness of E-Cigarette Lung Disease Unconfirmed... Outbreak Occurred Before Wuhan, China

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Amid strong Chinese opposition to the World Health Organization (WHO)'s second-phase investigation into the origin of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, claims have emerged from China suggesting that American electronic cigarettes may be the origin of COVID-19.

China has labeled the Wuhan COVID-19 origin theory as an American 'conspiracy theory,' and the allegation that American electronic cigarettes could be the origin of COVID-19 is interpreted as China’s determination to counter conspiracy theories with conspiracy theories. This is read as meaning that China will not cooperate with the WHO's second-phase investigation unless an investigation into the U.S. Fort Detrick laboratory is conducted first.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

China's state-run Global Times exclusively reported on the 1st that Chinese scientists, after examining chest CT scans of patients with electronic cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) in the U.S. in 2019, concluded that some patients’ lung images are similar to those of COVID-19 patients.

The outlet stated that Chinese scientists reviewed 250 chest CT scans from 142 patients with electronic cigarette-related lung disease in the U.S., finding that 16 patients were associated with viral infections, and among them, 5 were classified as 'suspicious.'

Chinese scientists claimed that the lung images of patients with electronic cigarette-related lung disease resemble those of COVID-19 patients, and particularly, the lung images of 5 patients are considered to be those of severe COVID-19 cases.

Professor Yang Zhan-chu of Wuhan University’s Virus Research Institute said, "The symptoms of patients with electronic cigarette-related lung disease who appeared in the U.S. in 2019 are similar to those of COVID-19 patients," adding, "At that time, there were no nucleic acid test kits, so it is highly likely that COVID-19 patients were misdiagnosed as patients with unknown lung disease." He further stated, "The U.S. should conduct antibody tests on patients with electronic cigarette-related lung disease to determine how many were actually COVID-19 patients," and demanded, "The U.S. should share the relevant data with the world."

Wuhan Institute of Virology, China Photo by Yonhap News

The Global Times emphasized that as of December 18, 2020, when COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the U.S., a total of 2,087 lung disease hospitalizations or deaths were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) across all 50 states, and that the cause and infectiousness of these lung diseases have not yet been confirmed. The outlet also pointed out that in September 2019, the number of electronic cigarette-related lung disease patients doubled in Maryland, where the U.S. military’s Fort Detrick laboratory is located, arguing that an investigation of the Fort Detrick laboratory is necessary.

The People’s Daily also targeted the Fort Detrick laboratory. Fort Detrick is a U.S. military biochemical laboratory, reportedly storing biological warfare materials from the German Nazis and the Japanese Unit 731. It also reported that in July 2019, two nursing homes near Fort Detrick experienced pneumonia of unknown cause, and in September of the same year, pneumonia symptoms were reported among smokers who used electronic cigarettes in Maryland. At the same time, unexplained respiratory diseases began to appear in northern Virginia and Wisconsin, leading to a large-scale outbreak of 'electronic cigarette pneumonia.'

The People’s Daily mocked the U.S. government, stating that although the Fort Detrick laboratory was closed by the USCDC in July 2019, the U.S. government has not clearly explained the reason for the closure, citing 'national security' as the reason for withholding the closure details, leaving the matter a mystery to this day.

Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on the 16th of last month that China’s laboratories should be included in the second-phase investigation into the origin of COVID-19, and that further research on the Wuhan market in China, where COVID-19 was first reported in December 2019, is necessary. In response, China is demanding a prior investigation of the U.S. military’s Fort Detrick research facility. Chinese netizens have joined in, with over 20 million Chinese signing a petition demanding an investigation of the Fort Detrick laboratory, reflecting the peak of anti-American sentiment in China.