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A lab in Montana, United States under acclaimed American immunologist Dr Anthony Fauci was reportedly experimenting with coronaviruses brought from a lab in China's Wuhan which is thought to be the source of the Covid pandemic by some. The revelation was made after a research paper published in the journal Viruses in 2018 resurfaced which revealed the existence as well as the nature of experiments conducted there. 

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reportedly infected 12 Egyptian fruit bats with a 'SARS-like' virus called WIV1 at a lab in Montana in 2018.

The revelation simply links the US government and the Wuhan Lab alongside the corresponding funding of dangerous virus research across the globe. 

Also read | WHO again asks China for 'full access' to determine Covid's origins: Report

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The paper - SARS-Like Coronavirus WIV1-CoV Does Not Replicate in Egyptian Fruit Bats - was published in the journal Viruses in 2018. The study was flagged by DRASTIC, a group of online activists who investigate the origins of the Covid pandemic and call their initiative the White Coat Waste Project. 

Between Wuhan and Montana: The 2018 experiment

The experiment in 2018 was carried out at the NIH's Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana. The lab was overseen by Dr Anthony Fauci. The research was a joint project between the NIH's Rocky Mountain Laboratories and Wuhan Institute of Virology collaborator Ralph Baric of the University of North Carolina. 

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Scientists took 12 Egyptian fruit bats from a zoo and inoculated them with the WIV1-coronavirus, a coronavirus first detected in Chinese rufous horseshoe bats. 

Researchers concluded that the WIV1-coronavirus did not cause 'a robust infection' and 'observed very limited evidence of virus replication'.

Also watch | Covid origin: China began developing two vaccines before official outbreak

The Catocin Wildlife Preserve, from where the bats were sourced, has had a history of animal rights violations. It is located just 15 minutes away from Camp David, a 125-acre country retreat for the President of the United States. 

Records cited by Daily Mail show the preserve confined 523 federally-regulated animals as of April 2023, including 241 bats, of which 41 were Egyptian fruit bats. 

Most of the world's gain-of-function virus research is conducted in the United States. Such research involves making pathogens more infectious purportedly to ensure that scientists remain ahead of future outbreaks. 

However, such research has been criticised by experts who say it leads to risks of a viral leak outweighing any potential benefits.