New Evidence Supports Animal Origin of COVID Virus through Raccoon Dogs

Genetic material from raccoon dogs found at the Huanan wet market in Wuhan, where the first known COVID-19 cases were discovered, adds weight to the zoonotic origin of the pandemic, according to scientists who presented new evidence to the World Health Organization. The researchers analysed uploaded sequencing data from the Chinese researchers who identified the virus in early 2020. Data revealed genetic material from raccoon dogs that matched areas in the market where the virus was found, but one of the scientists emphasised that the findings did not demonstrate that raccoon dogs transmitted the virus to humans. The analysis will be published in the coming days. 

Since the pandemic began, scientists have debated whether the outbreak began through a lab leak or a natural origin at the wet market. Susceptible hosts have long been hypothesised to have been present at the Wuhan market at the outset. The evidence implicating the wet market, despite unclear data collection processes, is consistent with zoonotic transmission. However, the debate on the natural or lab origin of the virus remains ongoing, with some conspiracy theorists suggesting refrigerated seafood imports had brought the virus to the market, while lab-leak theories persist despite criticism. 

Evolutionary biologist Joel Wertheim from the University of California confirmed that analysis “confirms the presence of susceptible hosts and the virus in the same place at the same time in the market”, but clarified that this did not demonstrate conclusively that raccoon dogs were to blame. He warned that lab-leak conspiracy theories would remain, but said the new evidence would help to convince more reasonable scientists. Regardless of the outcome of ongoing investigations, virologists agree that labs must improve biosecurity to prevent accidental leaks of deadly pathogens.



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