The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) today expects to receive the genome sequencing results of a COVID-19 case reported on Thursday — a former research assistant at Academia Sinica’s Genomics Research Center who might have contracted the virus in the laboratory, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said yesterday.
The results would clarify whether she contracted the virus while handling SARS-CoV-2 samples at work, Chen said, adding that she left her job at Academia Sinica earlier this month.
Before reporting the case, the nation did not have any new domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections since Nov. 4.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The former research assistant, who is in her 20s, is suspected to be infected with the Delta variant of the virus, the CECC said.
Chen said that the CECC has ordered Academia Sinica to conduct an internal review and has asked experts to head a separate investigation.
The woman had not traveled abroad in the months before testing positive and had received two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, he said.
The woman tested negative on Oct. 15 after she reported being bitten by a lab mouse infected with COVID-19, Chen said.
On Nov. 19, she reported being bitten by another infected lab mouse, but took no test, he added.
The CECC is testing whether the case’s SARS-CoV-2 genome matches that of the mice held at Academia Sinica, Chen said.
If her infection originated in the lab, further investigations would focus on whether the facility’s disease prevention protocols are insufficient or whether she breached the rules and might be held responsible, Chen said.
At a separate news conference yesterday afternoon, Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said the institution has set up an investigation task force, which would submit a report on the incident to the CECC within 10 days.
Liao said the woman was bitten by mice infected with the Gamma and Alpha variants, citing internal records.
Genome sequencing would help determine how she was infected, he added.
The Genomic Research Center operates one of Taiwan’s 18 laboratories rated biosafety level 3, the second-highest security grade.
Research conducted at the lab includes collecting and propagating pathogens, cell-based microbiological and immunological tests, and evaluating vaccine and adjuvant efficacy through animal testing, the laboratory’s Web site says.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk of COVID-19 spreading from animals to humans as low, but says that further studies are needed to assess the virus’ effect on different animal species.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that there have been no confirmed cases of animal-to-human spread of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The former research assistant might have contracted the virus through a “lab leak.”
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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