Scientists believe they have discovered the true origins of the Covid pandemic and have dismissed the popular theory that the virus leaked from a laboratory.
A major international study published today highlights that the virus originated in a “wet market” in Wuhan, China, and not in a scientific experiment.
Researchers tested genetic samples from animals sold at market stalls in Wuhan in 2019 and found traces of the Covid virus in some species.
They claim this is the first time scientists have identified which animals are responsible for transmission to humans.
“This adds another layer to the mounting evidence that all points to the same scenario: that infected animals were introduced into the market in mid- to late-November 2019, causing the pandemic,” said study author Kristian Andersen of Scripps Research.
Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan China, where scientists believe the pandemic began
A raccoon dog, which was sold live at the market and is now considered one of the main culprits in spreading the virus to humans
The raccoon dog, a fox-like animal common in East Asia, is believed to be the main carrier of the virus.
Other animals, such as the masked palm civet, the gray bamboo rat and the Malaysian porcupine, were also found to carry the Covid-19 virus before it was transmitted to humans.
This is not a definitive list, as many of the key animal species had already been removed from the market before the Chinese health team arrived, said Florence Débarre of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, who led the research.
The scientists note that many of the first cases in Wuhan, a city of 12 million, were market workers.
There is heated debate about the cause of the pandemic that has claimed 7 million lives worldwide, including more than 200,000 in the UK.
The alternative theory is that the pandemic was caused by a leak in one of the laboratories of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
This theory gained support after FBI Director Christopher Wray said the agency believes Covid-19 “most likely” originated in a “Chinese government-controlled laboratory.”
President Biden failed to expose the conspiracy surrounding the lab leak after ordering an investigation into the theory.
Malayan porcupines were also identified as one of the animals that caused the spread to humans
The market and the lab are only 22 kilometers apart, further strengthening the theory
Following the publication of this latest research, scientists are now stressing that the pandemic did indeed originate in the market, as originally reported.
The research is based on a new analysis of data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The data comes from more than 800 samples collected from January 1, 2020 at and around the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market and from genetic samples reported from early COVID-19 patients.
On January 1, 2020, after the animals were removed and just hours after the market closed, researchers from the China CDC went to the market to collect samples.
They cleaned the floors, walls and other surfaces of the stalls and returned a few days later to focus on the surfaces of the stalls where wild animals were sold, such as a cage and carts used to transport animals.
They also collected samples from the drains and sewers.
Experts warn that no lessons have been learned from Covid-19 and that the live animal trade could cause a pandemic in the future.
“This is the most dangerous thing we can do: expose wild animals that are loaded with viruses to fire by exposing them to people living in the heart of big cities. The density of these cities makes it easy for these viruses to take hold,” said Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, one of the study’s authors.
Other experts agree. Professor James Wood, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, who was not part of the study, said in a separate commentary: ‘While efforts have been made worldwide to improve biosecurity in laboratories to prevent viruses from accidentally escaping, little or nothing has been done to restrict the trade in live wildlife.