Data from the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was briefly shared with a global database by Chinese scientists, provides important information about its origins, including the animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the researchers said.

The virus was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019, and many suspected the Huanan Live Animal Market as its source before it spread around the world and killed seven million people.

The scientists released a pre-reviewed report based on their own interpretation of the data yesterday, Monday, following media leaks last week and a meeting with the World Health Organization that urged China to provide more information.

However, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data is no longer in the GISAID database, where it was published by scientists.

New sequences

The data included new sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and additional genomic data based on samples taken from a live animal market in Wuhan in 2020, according to scientists with access.

The sequences showed that raccoon dogs and other animals vulnerable to the coronavirus were on the market and may have been infected, providing a new link in the chain of transmission that eventually reached humans, they said.

“This adds to the body of evidence identifying the Huanan market as a transition point for Sars-CoV-2 and the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the report said.

The report is signed by authors such as Michael Sparrow of the University of Arizona, Christian Andersen of Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, and Florence Debar of the Sorbonne University in Paris, who had access to the data.

Compared to the information leaked last week, the report adds additional details about other animals that were on the market, and also shows that some of the environmental samples that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 contained more animal genetic material than human, which, according to scientists. , is consistent with animal infection.

UN: all hypotheses about the origin of Covid-19 remain on the table

Last week, the World Health Organization said that this information is not final, but represents a new element in the investigation into the origin of Covid-19 and should be provided immediately.

The UN agency has previously said that all hypotheses about the origin of Covid-19 remain valid, including the hypothesis that the virus escaped from a high-security lab in Wuhan that studies dangerous pathogens.

China denies any such connection. The WHO also said most of the evidence points to the virus coming from animals, possibly bats.

The Chinese CDC was not immediately available for comment. On Monday, when Reuters asked why the data appeared online and then disappeared, and whether the information would eventually be released, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin referred the journalists to the “competent authorities” without elaborating.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said China has “always supported and participated in global scientific cooperation to identify the source” and will continue to do so, but said the international scientific community should also share “its research on the origin of the virus from other regions.” peace with China.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.