Is the coronavirus to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic coming from live animals for sale at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, China, or a laboratory leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology?In search of an answer to this question, a new science article analyzes the first data on the epidemic, as well as environmental samples taken from the Huanan market provided by Chinese researchers. He points out that the market was the “epicenter” of the contagion. A short article concludes that the outbreak began after two genetically distinct coronaviruses flared. other people from November and December 2019.
Do those findings rule out the option that the COVID-19 coronavirus originated at the institute?The first article acknowledges that “upstream market events, as well as actual market cases, remain unclear, underscoring the need for additional studies to perceive and lessen the threat of pandemics in the long term. “These “upward events” can arise with a situation where a user related to the Institute of Virology unknowingly became infected with the virus and transported it to the marketplace of their purchases.
“Have we refuted the theory of laboratory leaks?No, we didn’t,” one of the study’s authors told The Washington Post. scenarios. . . “Possible” does not mean as likely”.
Skeptics about the virus’ herbal origin will point to its new furin cleavage site (FCS), which improves its ability to attach to and infect human cells. that the Wuhan Institute had proposed in the past to search for FCS in coronaviruses found in bats. They also noted that FCS has so far not been found in credible evolutionary ancestors of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
On the other hand, a May 2022 investigation into the genetics of the bat coronavirus in Communications Biology identifies “several imaginable pathways for the acquisition of herbal FCS” in bat coronavirus. This, they argue, supports “an herbal evolutionary origin of bats with or without the involvement of intermediate hosts [of other animals]. “
In June, the World Health Organization suggested to the Chinese government and researchers that they suppress the hypothesis about laboratory leaks by being more open about studies on coronavirus viruses being conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The world is still waiting to hear them.
Ronald Bailey is a clinical correspondent at Reason.