The first WHO report does not find any conclusive evidence of the origin of SARS-CoV-2

March 30, 2021

1 min read

ADD SUBJECT TO EMAIL ALARMS

Receive an email when new articles are published

Please enter your email address to receive an email when new articles are published . “data-action =” subscribe “> subscribe

We could not process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this problem, please contact [email protected].

Back to Healio

A team of investigators who traveled to China found no conclusive evidence of the origin of SARS-CoV-2, despite saying that people were “likely very likely” to have been exposed by an intermediary animal host.

In a 120-page report released Tuesday by the WHO, investigators said direct zoonotic overflow on humans was “possible to likely” and it was also possible that humans were exposed through the cold food chain.

They said it was “extremely unlikely” that the coronavirus was exposed to the public through a laboratory incident – a scenario that has re-emerged after the former CDC director Robert R. Redfield, MD, told CNN that he believed the virus originated in the laboratory.

The results are based on a trip by an international team of experts to Wuhan earlier this year.

The researchers confirmed widespread SARS-CoV-2 contamination of surfaces in a Wuhan animal market that has long been speculated as the origin of the virus‘Introduction to Man. The contamination is “compatible with virus releases from infected people on the market in late December 2019,” they said. However, extensive tests of animal products on the market did not reveal any evidence of the virus.

“For WHO, all hypotheses remain on the table,” said the WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MScsaid in a statement. “This report is a very important beginning, but not the end.”

Tedros recommended further research in order to include a full analysis of the animal and product trade in Wuhan and agreed with team members that farmers, suppliers and their contacts should be interviewed.

This is a breaking news story. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES.

ADD SUBJECT TO EMAIL ALARMS

Receive an email when new articles are published

Please enter your email address to receive an email when new articles are published . “data-action =” subscribe “> subscribe

We could not process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this problem, please contact [email protected].

Back to Healio

COVID-19 Resource Center