AN FBI report warned of a "biosecurity risk" coming from China more than a year before the coronavirus outbreak reached the United States.

In November 2018, US customs officials at Detroit Metro Airport intercepted virus samples carried by a Chinese biologist, unclassified documents obtained by Yahoo News reveal.

7 An FBI reports revealed of a 'biosecurity risk' after a scientist from China was discovered bringing vials of 'Antibodies' into the U.S. Credit: AFP or licensors

7 The scientist was stopped in Detroit Metro Airport in November 2018 carrying vials believed to be containing SARS or MERS materials [Stock image] Credit: Alamy

According the documents, the biologist was carrying three samples labeled "Antibodies" within his luggage.

The scientist reportedly told officials that colleagues in China had asked him to take the vials to a researcher at a U.S. institute.

Customs officials then concluded that the materials into the vials could have been SARS or MERS materials.

The report read: "Inspection of the writing on the vials and the stated recipient led inspection personnel to believe the materials contained within the vials may be viable Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) materials."

The name of the Chinese scientist who carried the suspected SARS and MERS samples was not named in the report, which was written by the Chemical and Biological Intelligence Unit of the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD).

ALARMING PATTERN

The recipient in the U.S. was also not named, but the FBI's report did conclude that the incident was part of an alarming pattern, as two other cases were also cited.

All three cases cited within the report involved Chinese nationals and, though referred to broadly as foreign researchers, the report appears to show the FBI's concern with China bringing such biological materials into the U.S.

The report was released more than two months before the coronavirus outbreak started in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the World Health Organization first became aware of an initial cluster of what it believed to be pneumonia cases.

The report read: “The Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate assesses foreign scientific researchers who transport undeclared and undocumented biological materials into the United States in their personal carry-on and/or checked luggage almost certainly present a US biosecurity risk.

“The WMDD makes this assessment with high confidence based on liaison reporting with direct access.”

7 President Trump has taken to calling the COVID-19 virus the 'Chinese Virus' Credit: AFP or licensors

7 The first coronavirus case is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China Credit: AFP or licensors

As well as the SARS and MERS incident, other cases cited in the report reportedly involved flu strains and what was suspected to be E. coli.

The FBI report refers to both biosecurity, which usually covers the intentional misuse of pathogens, such as for bioterrorism, and biosafety, which covers releases made by accident.

Concerns over China's lapse approaches to biosafety are nothing new, but following the coronavirus pandemic's spread worldwide, tensions between the US and China on the topic have only risen.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has taken to calling COVID-19 the "Chinese Virus," while conspiracy theories have spread that China started the virus deliberately.

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Other conspiracy theories coming out of Beijing have included the COVID-19 virus being formulated in a U.S. weapons lab.

As of Tuesday, there have been more than 850,000 coronavirus cases worldwide – including more than 185,000 in the United States and more than 81,000 confirmed cases in China.

More than 3,800 people have died from the virus in the U.S., while China has seen reported 3,305 deaths.

7 The total number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has topped 165,000 as of Tuesday

7 Since the outbreak started in China, the coronavirus pandemic has seen more than 850,000 cases of the virus worldwide Credit: Reuters

7 There have been more than 81,000 confirmed cases in China Credit: Getty Images - Getty

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