China's 'bat woman' speaks up, slams virus lab leak theory

Amid growing traction for the theory that Covid-19 virus may have leaked from a Wuhan lab, China top bat coronavirus researcher has spoke up and has slammed the hypothesis.

Known as China's 'bat woman' Shi Zhengli, who is a researcher at Wuhan Institute of Virology, has told New York Times that there is no evidence to show that the virus escaped from her lab. She has also lamented the "filth being poured on an innocent scientist".

“How on earth can I offer up evidence for something where there is no evidence?” she told the New York Times in rare comment to the media on the issue.

In a March 2020 article in Scientific American, Shi said that the genetic code of the virus that causes Covid-19 doesn’t match any of her lab’s samples.

There have been growing calls to probe deeper the possibility of virus lab leak and calls for greater transparency and aooperation from Beijing.