According to UK’s Daily Mail, an unassuming warehouse in the US state of California was discovered to be an illicit lab with ties to China that was home to dangerous viruses including the coronavirus, HIV, and malaria. City authorities unintentionally learned about the Reedley business when they saw a hose protruding from the facility.
The facility was thought to be connected to a questionable biotech corporation with connections to China, according to the British publication, which said that the finding spurred a joint state, municipal, and federal investigation. A total of 1,000 dead and dying lab mice as well as hundreds of vials of viruses were discovered by US federal inspectors in industrial freezers.
According to the study, Covid diagnostic and pregnancy tests were discovered during an examination of the subterranean facility, suggesting that the lab was engaged in the creation of such items. In addition, the lab kept at least 20 different infectious diseases, such as herpes and hepatitis.
According to reports, the facility used the name “Prestige Biotech” but did not have a company registration in California. Xiuquin Yao, the company’s president, said that it was a replacement for the now-defunct Universal Meditech Inc. However, when authorities looked into addresses connected to both businesses, they discovered closed offices or unreliable locations in China.
US authorities were horrified to see 1,000 lab mice housed in the warehouse under horrible circumstances, with 200 of them already dead. Joe Prado, assistant director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said that the lab was using these mice to evaluate the effectiveness of Covid test kits locally.
A collection of vials containing different biomaterials, such as blood and tissue, as well as unlabeled substances, some of which included deadly diseases including E. coli, streptococcus pneumonia, and hepatitis B and C, were also discovered after further research.
The company running the facility was identified as Prestige Biotech, which is registered in Las Vegas. City authorities identified Xiuquin Yao as the company’s president and said that the activity had moved to the Reedley warehouse after the collapse of Universal Meditech Inc.
