Recently scientists dismissed the lab-origin theory of SARS-CoV-2 virus.
What does the study say about virus origination?
A study by 17-member WHO team have put to rest the lab-origin conspiracy theories which emerged early during the pandemic.
Based on the analysis of genome sequence of virus they concluded that the virus like other like pathogens originated in wildlife.
They reported that there is no sign of direct human influence & virus origin from laboratory in Wuhan is extremely unlikely.
They suggest that virus may originated from a natural reservoir of bats which is unlikely to have been in Wuhan but miles away from any natural bat habitat.
When did it spread?
In their initial investigation, they suggest that virus transmission directly from bats to humans is highly unlikely & there must be an intermediary host species which they could not confirm.
It was found that virus was circulating in Wuhan before it was identified but there is no evidence of large outbreaks in Wuhan prior to December 2019.
In the report of The New England Journal of Medicine, scientists found evidence of human-to-human transmission as early as mid-December 2019.
This suggests that virus circulated weeks before it was identified in Wuhan but China officially confirmed human-to-human transmission only in mid-January.
What does the study say?
They did not rule out the possibility of transmission of virus via frozen food but they mention that possibility of such a route appears unlikely.
This is because the instances of live viruses on packaging are rare and isolated.
Visit of WHO is just the beginning of a long endeavour to trace the origin of virus & will succeed only when scientific investigation is allowed to follow its course without any political interference.
China again failed to be truly transparent during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak which earlier happened on SARS outbreak in the 2000s.
It should be now more open and cooperative so that future outbreaks of related corona viruses can be identified and contained early, if not prevented.
