Chinese Scientists Published long-awaited Data on the Origin of COVID-19

A research team in China has published an analysis of samples taken more than three years ago from a market linked to the outbreak of COVID-19, the BBC reported.

The seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan is the focus of the search for the origin of the coronavirus.

But this is the first peer-reviewed study of biological evidence collected from there in 2020.

By linking the virus to animals sold on the market, it could give new directions to the study of how the infection arose.

The analysis revealed that positive samples for the virus also contained genetic material from wild animals. Some scientists believe this is further evidence that the disease was originally transmitted from an infected animal to man.

However, others have urged caution in interpreting the results, and it remains unclear why it took three years before the genetic content of the samples was made public.

Another theory centers on the assumption that the virus accidentally leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.

No definitive proof

The Chinese research team published an early version of their study online in February 2022, but not the full genetic information contained in the samples collected from the market.

In March of this year, another international group of researchers shared their own assessment of what these key market samples had revealed after noticing that the genetic sequences had been posted on a scientific data-sharing website.

This new analysis, which was confirmed by other scientists before being published in the journal Nature, includes more important details about the contents of these samples, which were collected from market stalls, surfaces, cages and equipment.

The Chinese research team's report shows that some samples collected from areas where wild animals were sold tested positive for the virus.

Their analysis also indicates that animals now known to be susceptible to the virus, particularly raccoon dogs, were sold alive at these locations.

But the Chinese researchers point out that their findings do not provide definitive proof of how the epidemic began. "These environmental samples cannot prove that the animals were infected," the document stressed. The possibility remains, it added, that the virus was introduced into the market by an infected person rather than an animal.

Professor David Robertson of the University of Glasgow told the BBC that "most importantly, this very important dataset is now published and available for others to work on".

Robertson is a virologist who has been involved in the genetic study of the origins of SARS-CoV-2 since its emergence in 2020.

But he added that the contents of the samples were "compelling evidence that animals there were probably infected with the virus".

"All the evidence is important," Robertson noted. "When you combine that with the fact that the early cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan were linked to the market, that's strong evidence that that's where the animal-to-animal transfer (of the virus) happened."

The release of the data comes amid reports that the theory that the virus leaked from a laboratory is gaining traction among US authorities.

China strongly rejects suggestions that the virus originated in a scientific facility, but the FBI said it now considers that scenario "the most likely." This is also claimed by the US Department of Energy.

Various US departments and agencies have investigated the matter and reached different conclusions, but on March 1 the FBI director accused Beijing of "doing everything possible to try to thwart and confuse" and revealed that the bureau was convinced of the lab theory expiration "for quite some time".

The FBI did not make its findings public, which disappointed some scientists.

Follow Novinite.com on Twitter and Facebook

Write to us at editors@novinite.com

Информирайте се на Български - Novinite.bg

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!