Getty Images Racoon dogs are implicated as one of the potential animals that could have been the source of Covid A team of scientists say it is “beyond reasonable doubt” the Covid pandemic started with infected animals sold at a market, rather than a laboratory leak. They were analysing hundreds of samples collected from Wuhan, … Read more
This new analysis, which has been validated by other scientists before being published in the journal Nature, includes more important detail about the content of those samples, which were collected from stalls, surfaces, cages and machinery inside the market. Source link
US agencies cannot agree on how the pandemic started, with the scientific community bitterly divided. Source link
Almost two years since the start of the pandemic, we still don’t know where , when or how the deadly Sars-Cov-2 virus emerged. Investigating new viruses is always extremely complex, but scientists have been able to find the source of the two previous coronavirus outbreaks – both of which have emerged from animals. Source link
By Robert Preidt and Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Aug. 26, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The search for the source of the new coronavirus is at an impasse and the window of opportunity to identify the virus’ origins is “closing fast,” a World Health Organization-appointed team of experts said Wednesday. The investigation is at … Read more
“The window of opportunity” for crucial studies into how the Covid-19 pandemic started is closing, scientists say. Source link
Crowded, unhygienic live animal markets, many scientists agree, provide an ideal transmission hotspot for new diseases to “spill over” from animals. And in the 18 months up to the beginning of the pandemic, a study showed that nearly 50,000 animals – of 38 different species – were sold at markets in Wuhan. Source link
Marion Koopmans, a virologist who was on the WHO field visit to Wuhan to investigate the origins of Covid-19, has said that it is unlikely the virus came from a lab. This comes after the US President Joe Biden has decided to further investigate Covid’s origins, putting a strain on US-China relations. Ms Koopmans said … Read more
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and US President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, has maintained he believes the virus was passed from animals to humans, though he conceded this month he was no longer confident Covid-19 had developed naturally. Source link