Share this article The theory that COVID-19 potentially 'leaked' into the world from a lab in Wuhan has recently gained increased traction. The lab leak theory - which focuses on Wuhan's Institute of Virology - was originally considered by scientists as unlikely and even a conspiracy theory, as scientific consensus seemed to settle on the theory that the virus passed to humans via animals (potentially through Wuhan's 'wet market'). However, an inconclusive WHO report on the origins of COVID-19 and reports from US intelligence has suddenly put the lab leak possibility back into the spotlight. The WHO report stated a laboratory incident is considered an "extremely unlikely" cause of the pandemic compared to other possible causes (such as being passed from an animal to a human).