Two studies resolve the controversy over the origin of the Corona virus: the Chinese market or the laboratory?

Written By رنا السيلاوي on 2022/07/28

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.

<p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><strong>Weather of Arabia</strong> - Two recent studies revealed &quot;compelling evidence&quot; that the Huanan Market for Seafood and Wild Animals, in Wuhan, China, was the first focus of the outbreak of the new Corona virus.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> One of the two studies published on Tuesday and reviewed by researchers shows that the first known cases were centered around this market.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> The other study uses genetic information to track the timing of the outbreak, and points to two different mutations that passed to humans in November or early December 2019.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Researchers in the two studies say that this evidence shows that the SAR-CoV-2 virus was present in live mammals that were sold in the Huanan market in late 2019.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> They add that it was transmitted to people who were working or shopping there in &quot;two separate events&quot;, during which the virus was transmitted from animal to human, causing infection.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> One of the researchers involved, virologist Professor David Robertson, from the University of Glasgow, told BBC News he hoped <strong>&quot;the two studies will correct the wrong record that the virus came from a lab&quot;</strong> .</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>You may also be interested in: <a href="https://www.arabiaweather.com/ar/content/%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%81-%D8%AA%D8%AA... do you recover from the Corona virus while you are at home?</a></strong></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><h2 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>Detecting the epicenter of the epidemic</strong></h2><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> A two-year scientific effort on the virus that causes COVID-19 has led researchers to a deeper understanding of the virus and its origin.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> This enabled them to address a major problem with early patient data: Of the hundreds of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wuhan, only about 50 had a direct, traceable link to the market.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Professor Robertson said: &quot;That was really confusing, because most cases cannot be linked to the market. But after learning what we now know about the virus, we found what we expected - <strong>because many people develop only mild symptoms, remain in the community and transmit the virus to others, and this It makes it difficult to link severe cases to one another</strong> .&quot;</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Research on the geographical distribution of cases found that a large proportion of the first patients - who had no contact with the market, meaning they did not work or shop there - lived near it.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Professor Michael Worby, lead author on the study and a biologist from the University of Arizona, said this supports the idea that the market was the epicenter of the epidemic, with vendors infected first and triggering a &quot;chain of infection among community members in the surrounding area.&quot;</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> &quot;In a city that covers more than 3,000 square miles, the probability of finding a home where the oldest cases of COVID-19 have formed is limited to an area consisting of a few apartment blocks with the Huanan Market next to it,&quot; he added.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> This study focused on the market itself. The scientists mapped the samples - taken with swabs of fluids in banks and market stalls - that tested positive for the virus.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> &quot;Most of the positive samples were around the southwest side of the market,&quot; Professor Robertson explained. &quot;This is where we knew species like raccoon dogs were being sold.&quot;</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> &quot;So we have confirmation that animals that we now know are susceptible to SAR-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, were sold there in late 2019,&quot; he added. </p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"><img alt="" src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/04/02/wuhan-cleanup-1_custom-42301... style="width: 948px; height: 657px;" /></p><h2 style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>What about the theory of virus leakage from a lab?</strong></h2><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Over the past two years, the search for the origin of the deadly epidemic has transformed from a scientific investigation into a heated political controversy.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> The topic has turned into a fierce international blame game - primarily between politicians in the US and China - over the theory that the virus may have leaked from the Wuhan Laboratory, at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> Professor Stuart Neal, from King&#39;s College London, said this hypothesis &quot;cannot explain the data&quot;.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> &quot;We are now fairly certain, based on the evidence we have, that it was an indirect event that occurred in the market,&quot; he added.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>Many scientists agree that crowded live animal markets provide an ideal point for new diseases to &quot;pass&quot; from animals to humans. In the 18 months before the epidemic began, a separate study showed that nearly 50,000 animals - from 38 different species - were sold in markets in Wuhan.</strong></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>Prof Neil said the epidemic was likely the result of &quot;unhygienic, brutal and unhygienic practices about which warnings have been given to the Chinese authorities&quot;.</strong></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> He added that the main danger of getting distracted by looking for someone in the lab to blame &quot; <strong>is that we risk the possibility of this happening again, because we are focusing attention on the wrong problem.&quot;</strong></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"></p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> <strong>You may also be interested: <a href="https://www.arabiaweather.com/ar/content/%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B0%D8%A7-... do new strains of the Corona virus appear?</a></strong></p>

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.


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