Scientists have released three new studies on where COVID-19 originated. These studies indicate that the SARS-CoV-2 originated from live animals and spread to humans in late 2019 at the Huanan Seafood Market.
Scientists who have analysed data from a number of studies available so far say that the virus came from animals sold in the Wuhan seafood market by the end of 2019, and later spread to humans. They added that there was no evidence to support the theory that the virus came from any laboratory in Wuhan.
The two reports are yet to be published in a scientific journal. They are available on Zenodo, a CERN-managed open access research repository.
Some virologists say the new evidence pointing the finger at the Wuhan market does not rule out an alternative theory. That is, an infected person may be a virus source of the SARS-CoV-2 that spread to many other people.
Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and a co-author on both studies, told The New Yorl Times: “When you look at all of the evidence together, it’s an extraordinarily clear picture that the pandemic started at the Huanan market.”
Poinitng out that Wuhan market was epicentre of pandemic's beginning, the summary of one study said: “Geographical clustering of the earliest known Covid-19 cases and the proximity of positive environmental samples to live-animal vendors suggest that the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan was the site of origin of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
These studies suggest that the onset of Covid-19 was like a firework—starting at one point from the market and exploding outwards. The studies also suggest that the virus originated from the western section of the market where live animalks were sold.
In the beginning of Covid-19, Chinese reseachers had suspected the Huanan market was the source of a viral outbreak because most cases originated from the city.