The mystery of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic now has some new clues.
FILE - Raccoon dogs are seen at a cage in Tokyo's Ueno zoo Saturday, May 24, 2003. International scientists who examined previously unavailable genetic data from samples collected at a market close to where the first human cases of COVID-19 were detected in China said they found suggestions the pandemic originated from animals, not a lab. Other experts have not yet verified their analysis, which also has not appeared so far in a peer-reviewed journal.
How the coronavirus emerged remains unclear. Many scientists believe it most likely jumped from animals to people, as many other viruses have in the past, at a wildlife market in Wuhan, China. But Wuhan is home to several labs involved in collecting and studying coronaviruses, fueling theories scientists say are plausible that the virus may have leaked from one.
The samples were collected from surfaces at the Huanan seafood market in early 2020 in Wuhan, where the first human cases of COVID-19 were found in late 2019. The data show that some of the COVID-positive samples collected from a stall known to be involved in the wildlife trade also contained raccoon dog genes, indicating the animals may have been infected by the virus, according to the scientists. Their analysis was first reported in The Atlantic.
Ray Yip, an epidemiologist and founding member of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control office in China, said the findings are significant, even though they aren't definitive.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China marketScientists have found raccoon dog DNA comingled with the coronavirus in previously unavailable genetic data. The samples were collected at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan in early 2020.
Read more »
New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China marketGenetic material collected at a Chinese market near where the first human cases of COVID-19 were identified show raccoon dog DNA comingled with the virus, suggesting the pandemic may have originated from animals, not a lab, international experts say.
Read more »
New data links COVID pandemic’s origins to raccoon dogs at Wuhan market in ChinaAn international team of virus experts said that they had found genetic data from a market in Wuhan, China, linking the coronavirus with raccoon dogs for sale there.
Read more »
WHO, advisors urge China to release all COVID-related data after new researchAdvisors to the World Health Organization have urged China to release all information related to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic after new findings were briefly shared on an international database used to track pathogens.
Read more »
India-China situation in Himalayan region is fragile, dangerous: New DelhiIndian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar says relations with China cannot go back to normal until the border row is resolved in line with the September 2020 in-principle agreement he reached with his Chinese counterpart.
Read more »
China’s New Electric Trolley-Trucks Draw Power From Overhead Wires Or A Battery | CarscoopsThe UK, Germany and Sweden are already running trials to see if overhead cables are the best option for clean trucks
Read more »