BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - A recent international study published in the journal Cell outlines a list of wildlife species present in the market believed to be the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that led to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research, based on genetic data provided by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzed over 800 samples collected from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, starting on January 1, 2020, along with viral genomes from early COVID-19 patients.
The study identified several animals, including raccoon dogs, civets, and bamboo rats, as potential sources of the outbreak.
One of the co-authors of the paper, Michael Worobey, who is also the head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, emphasized the significance of this dataset obtained directly from the market.
'This may be the last big, new set of data directly from the market, and in a way, it's like finishing the last piece of a puzzle showing a picture that has been pretty clear already,' he said.
The study also highlighted the use of metagenomic sequencing to identify animal species at the market, allowing for the reading of all genetic material in a sample. The researchers concluded that the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the pandemic likely emerged between mid-November and mid-December 2019 and was linked to the larger outbreak.
Worobey warned about the significant risks associated with placing wild animals carrying viruses in close proximity to densely populated urban areas, emphasizing the potential for these viruses to proliferate.
He called for actionable measures to eliminate the dangerous practice of selling live animals that may carry potential pandemic pathogens in urban centers.
Furthermore, the study conducted an evolutionary analysis of the earliest viral genomes linked to the pandemic, suggesting that very few, if any, humans were infected before the market incident. This aligns with the idea of transmission from animals to humans in the market, subsequently spreading throughout Wuhan and beyond.
While the study provides strong evidence for the pandemic's origination in the market's wildlife stalls, Professor James Wood, co-director of Cambridge Infectious Diseases, cautioned that it cannot be considered conclusive due to the post-closure collection of samples and the likelihood that the pandemic began several weeks earlier.
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