A new genetic analysis of animals in the Wuhan market in 2019 may help find COVID-19’s origin

Maria Cheng, AP Medical Writer

LONDON (AP) — Scientists searching for nan origins of COVID-19 person zeroed successful connected a short database of animals that perchance helped dispersed it to people, an effort they dream could let them to trace nan outbreak backmost to its source.

Researchers analyzed familial worldly gathered from nan Chinese marketplace wherever nan first outbreak was detected and recovered that nan astir apt animals were racoon dogs, civet cats and bamboo rats. The scientists fishy infected animals were first brought to nan Wuhan marketplace successful precocious November 2019, which past triggered nan pandemic.

Michael Worobey, 1 of nan caller study’s authors, said they recovered which sub-populations of animals mightiness person transmitted nan coronavirus to humans. That whitethorn thief researchers pinpoint wherever nan microorganism commonly circulates successful animals, known arsenic its earthy reservoir.

“For example, pinch nan racoon dogs, we tin show that nan racoon dogs that were (at nan market) … were from a sub-species that circulates much successful confederate parts of China,” said Worobey, an evolutionary biologist astatine nan University of Arizona. Knowing that mightiness thief researchers understand wherever those animals came from and wherever they were sold. Scientists mightiness past commencement sampling bats successful nan area, which are known to beryllium nan earthy reservoirs of related coronaviruses for illustration SARS.

While nan investigation bolsters nan lawsuit that COVID-19 emerged from animals, it does not resoluteness nan polarized and governmental statement complete whether nan microorganism alternatively emerged from a investigation laboratory successful China.

Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious diseases astatine nan University of Edinburgh, said nan caller familial study suggested that nan pandemic “had its evolutionary roots successful nan market” and that it was very improbable COVID-19 was infecting group earlier it was identified astatine nan Huanan market.

“It’s a important uncovering and this does displacement nan dial much successful favour of an animal origin,” Woolhouse, who was not connected to nan research, said. “But it is not conclusive.”

An master group led by nan World Health Organization concluded successful 2021 that nan microorganism astir apt dispersed to humans from animals and that a laboratory leak was “extremely unlikely.” WHO main Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later said it was “premature” to norm retired a laboratory leak.

An AP investigation successful April recovered nan hunt for nan COVID origins successful China has gone acheronian aft governmental infighting and missed opportunities by section and world wellness officials to constrictive nan possibilities.

Scientists opportunity they whitethorn ne'er cognize for judge wherever precisely nan microorganism came from.

In nan caller study, published Thursday successful nan diary Cell, scientists from Europe, nan U.S. and Australia analyzed information antecedently released by experts astatine nan Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It included 800 samples of familial worldly Chinese workers collected connected Jan. 1, 2020 from nan Huanan seafood market, nan time aft Wuhan municipal authorities first raised nan siren astir an chartless respiratory virus.

Chinese scientists published nan familial sequences they recovered past year, but did not place immoderate of nan animals perchance infected pinch nan coronavirus. In nan caller analysis, researchers utilized a method that tin place circumstantial organisms from immoderate substance of familial worldly collected successful nan environment.

Worobey said nan accusation provides “a snapshot of what was (at nan market) earlier nan pandemic began” and that familial analyses for illustration theirs “helps to capable successful nan blanks of really nan microorganism mightiness person first started spreading.”

Woolhouse said nan caller study, while significant, near immoderate captious issues unanswered.

“There is nary mobility COVID was circulating astatine that market, which was afloat of animals,” he said. “The mobility that still remains is really it sewage location successful nan first place.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from nan Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for each content.