SA, I agree that’s a very significant typo, and most unfortunate that it seems to have got into an echo chamber. If I had more time I’d write to the Bulletin etc; they’re reputable publications so I expect they’d publish corrections.

However, if Daszak dislikes the accusations about him he has a very simple remedy which is to open his database of bat viruses; science is supposed to be about full disclosure of data, is it not? Instead he has made matters worse for himself by organising that letter making smears of conspiracy theory, and pretending to have no conflict of interest. Daszak could also mitigate the rampant politicisation and China-bashing – the US already has a copy of the genetic database that got taken off-line in China, but Daszak holds the publication rights over it.

Why hasn’t he released it? Maybe he merely thinks it’s worth a lot of money, in which case it’s up to him whether he thinks it’s worth all the accusations. But with so many dead and so much economic hardship, he has no right telling anyone to shut up about it.