Jesalyn Harper, the only full-time code enforcement officer for the small, agricultural city of Reedley in California’s Central Valley, responded to a complaint about vehicles parked in the loading dock of a cold-storage warehouse. Upon investigating, she discovered a foul smell and a garden hose leading into the building.
Inside the building, Harper encountered a woman in a lab coat and two others wearing plastic gloves and surgical masks. The women claimed to be from China and were packing pregnancy tests for shipping. As Harper continued her investigation, she found illegal wiring connecting refrigerators and ultralow-temperature freezers, vials of blood and jars of urine, and overcrowded and unsanitary containers holding about 1,000 lab mice.
Alarmed by what she had witnessed, Harper contacted Fresno County health officials and subsequently the FBI. Federal, state, and local authorities launched investigations into the medical lab, which was owned by Prestige Biotech Inc., a company registered in Las Vegas. Ultimately, the investigations found no criminal activity, no evidence of a threat to public health or national security, and no possession of select agents or toxins that could be used as bioweapons.
During an inspection of the lab in March, officials found infectious agents in the refrigerators, including E. coli, coronavirus, malaria, hepatitis B and C, dengue, chlamydia, human herpes, rubella, and HIV. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that there was no indication of illegal possession of these materials or bioweapons.
After receiving a court order, authorities shut down the lab, euthanized the mice, and cleaned up the biological materials. It seemed like the case had been resolved.
However, in July, the Mid Valley Times published an article about the lab, citing court documents that mentioned a representative of Prestige Biotech claiming that the mice had been genetically modified to carry the virus that causes COVID-19. This statement turned out to be a miscommunication by Wang Zhaolin, a representative of Prestige Biotech, whose English was not perfect. An attending veterinarian determined that the mice had not been injected with any infectious agent and were used to grow COVID-19 antibody cells for testing kits.
Despite the clarification, the online furor continued. National media outlets reported on the lab allegedly bioengineering mice to carry COVID-19. A Fresno city official even raised concerns about the lab’s proximity to a naval air station, suggesting a potential threat in a war with China.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, expressed his concerns over the case with colleagues on the Select Committee on China and planned to follow up with the FBI.
Experts attribute these fears and conspiracy theories to long-standing anti-Chinese sentiments in the United States, which have been exacerbated during the pandemic.
Reedley officials expressed their concerns about the lack of regulation for private medical laboratories. The lab in question had been operating illegally, and authorities were frustrated by the focus on conspiracy theories rather than addressing the real issue.
Reedley’s city manager stated that the lab’s operators did not want the city to know they were there, and there was no single government entity overseeing private medical laboratories in California.
The California Department of Public Health is still investigating whether Prestige Biotech had a state license, while federal officials found no illegal activities.
Representatives from Prestige Biotech did not respond to requests for comment.
Reedley officials decided not to share information about the lab with the public, based on advice from state and federal officials. They emphasized that there was no threat to public safety, as no hazards were found in the air or water.
Ultimately, the discovery of the lab raised concerns about the lack of regulation for private medical laboratories.
