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| Imaginechina Limited/Alamy |
Genetic testing on samples collected during the earliest days of the covid-19 outbreak suggests it is likely that the virus spread from animals to humans at the Huanan seafood market
An analysis of genetic samples taken from the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, China, has identified a shortlist of wild animals being sold there that were the most likely source of the virus that sparked the covid-19 pandemic.
While bats are thought to have been the original carrier of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it has been previously proposed that an intermediate wild species became infected and brought it to the market, where an outbreak in humans began. Stalls there sold live animals as well as seafood.
An alternative suggestion is that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where staff were known to be studying bat coronaviruses, but not SARS-CoV-2.
However, a new study by an international team concludes it is more likely that the virus emerged from wild animals sold at the market and not from a lab escape. The researchers re-analysed data from 800 samples collected at the Huanan market by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention beginning on 1 January 2020, and also studied viral genomes from the earliest covid-19 cases.
Team member Ed Holmes at the University of Sydney says Chinese investigators swabbed surfaces, freezers, drains and cages to test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2.
“We analysed these data to determine which species were present and where they were found in the market, particularly in relation to where SARS-CoV-2 was found,” says Holmes. --->READ MORE HERE
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| HECTOR RETAMAL/Getty |
A new study has provided a detailed list of wildlife species present at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, believed to be a possible source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study analyzed over 800 samples taken from the market in early January 2020 by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), just after the market was closed, and from viral genomes collected from early COVID-19 patients.
The findings reinforce the theory that the pandemic likely began in late 2019 when animals infected with SARS-CoV-2 were brought into the market and cast doubt over other possible origins, such as a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
"This paper slots into many other studies over the last few years that have been building the case for this very clearly being a natural virus that spilled over, very likely at the Wuhan seafood market," Kristian Andersen, co-corresponding author and professor at Scripps Research, told Newsweek.
The research team performed a reanalysis of data published earlier by the Chinese CDC, which had shared the sequencing information openly. Their updated analysis provides new insights, identifying potential animal carriers of SARS-CoV-2, including raccoon dogs and civet cats whose genetic material was found in the same market stalls as the virus.
Investigators from the Chinese CDC had swabbed floors, walls, animal cages, carts and other surfaces in the market as part of their early 2020 investigation.
Though the live animals had been removed by the time they arrived, they were able to obtain RNA sequences from viruses, bacteria, plants, animals and humans that were present in the samples. RNA is similar to DNA with some differences, such as that DNA is double-stranded, while RNA is single.
SARS-CoV-2 was found in close proximity to genetic material from several wildlife species—in some cases they were even found on the same swabs.
"When we see samples that contain both the susceptible animals as well as the virus itself, that's really unheard of in terms of the granularity for understanding the origin of the pandemic outbreak," Andersen said. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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