A British scientist working in the United States has revealed he faced death threats and harassment due to his collaborative research with scientists in China on virus studies before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in 2020. The scientist, Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance (EHA), shared his ordeal in an interview with The South China Morning Post (SCMP) published on Sunday, September 29. EcoHealth Alliance, a New York-based non-governmental organization, focuses on pandemic prevention and scientific research. Daszak, who was also a member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) investigative team on the origins of COVID-19, said the harassment extended to his family, with threats escalating over four years.
Death threats and harassment
Daszak described a relentless campaign of online and media attacks against him and his organization, particularly after the Covid pandemic began. “That is not appropriate or normal for a scientist to be put through,” Daszak told SCMP. He shared that an envelope containing white powder was sent to his home and that his wife and children were named on a “kill list” circulating on 4chan, an anonymous online forum.
“You talk to the FBI to try and help. They are the same guys investigating you and do not believe that you did not do something wrong. It is awful,” Daszak added, expressing frustration over the intensity of the scrutiny.
Why Daszak became a target
EcoHealth Alliance began working with Chinese scientists shortly after the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), to identify the wildlife reservoir of the original SARS-CoV virus and assess the likelihood of another coronavirus causing a global outbreak. In 2005, the EHA initiated a collaboration with China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a leading virology lab, with backing from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the State Department.
However, as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill in 2020, EcoHealth Alliance and its research in China came under fierce criticism. The organization faced allegations that its U.S.-funded research may have contributed to the pandemic, with questions raised about whether the organization followed grant protocols or engaged in risky research.
Speculation that a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology could have sparked the pandemic only fueled the backlash. Daszak’s connection to the WIV made him a focal point of these suspicions, further intensifying the personal and professional attacks.
EHA defends against allegations
In response to the mounting accusations, EcoHealth Alliance recently released a report addressing the claims made by the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The NGO firmly denied allegations that its research was linked to the emergence of Covid-19 through a lab leak.
“Many of [the claims levelled against EHA] are built on the false assumption that Covid-19 emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology because of a lab leak during research supported by the NIH under a sub-grant from EcoHealth Alliance: There is not a scintilla of verifiable scientific evidence for this,” the report stated.
The organization emphasized that its scientific collaboration with the WIV had been “open and transparent” but ended abruptly when former U.S. President Donald Trump terminated NIH funding to EHA in 2020. As the global community continues to grapple with the fallout from the pandemic, Daszak’s case underscores the intense scrutiny and personal risks faced by scientists working in the politically charged realm of virus research.