Traces of COVID-19 in Wuhan's animal market spark debate over origin of pandemic

New research is claiming to be the strongest proof that the Covid virus jumped from animals to humans. The study is based on analysis of samples collected from an animal market in Wuhan, China, from the initial days of the pandemic. 

The samples discovered evidence of the novel coronavirus' presence along with genetic material in various animals, including raccoon dogs which are highly susceptible to the virus, as per a report published on the Zenodo.org open science website on Monday.  

According to the report, in a few samples, more animal genetic material was found compared to human genetic material which indicates the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals. 

"The sequences showed that raccoon dogs and other animals susceptible to the coronavirus were present in the market and may have been infected, providing a new clue in the chain of transmission that eventually reached humans," the report stated.

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"This adds to the body of evidence identifying the Huanan market as the spillover location of Sars-CoV-2 and the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic," it added. 

The virus was identified for the first time in Wuhan in December 2019 as many suspected the Huanan live animal market can be the source of pandemic.
The study has till now not been reviewed by the scientific community. China has been called out by the World Health Organization for fully sharing the genetic data which was analysed by the researchers. 

“I worry a lot about our jumping on tidbits that are incomplete and cannot be verified,” stated David Relman, who works as a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University. “I think we need to take a deep breath and insist on the kind of process and science that any important issue, especially this one, deserves," he added. 

This is the latest report that has emerged from the researchers' frantic search for answers on how the pandemic started. On Monday, a bill was signed into law by US President Joe Biden to declassify intelligence on COVID-19's origin. 

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In a press conference on Friday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “These data do not provide a definitive answer to the question of how the pandemic began but every piece of data is important in moving us closer to that answer.”

Meanwhile, Stephen Goldstein, a virologist at the University of Utah who participated in the analysis, said, “It’s the first time we’ve been able to identify a genetic fingerprint of the virus and a potential intermediate host in the exact same place. It’s completely consistent and expected from what you’d see in a zoonotic spillover event.” 

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the country has "always supported and participated in global scientific co-operation on origin tracing" and it will continue to do so, but added that the international scientific community should also share "their research on the virus originating from other regions of the world with China".

(With inputs from agencies)

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