[ad_1]
A recent publication in the journal Nature announces the WHO investigation into the possible origin of COVID-19. The bibliography is reviewed by EKPA professors Dimitrios Paraskevi (Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, EKPA) and Thanos Dimopoulos (Professor of Therapy and Rector of EKPA).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a plan to investigate the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will begin in Wuhan, the city where the new coronavirus was first identified, and will then spread to China and the rest of the world. Investigating the spread of the virus is important to prevent animal transmission in the future, but scientists say the WHO has an extremely difficult task.
Most scientists believe that the virus originated in bats, but the exact way it was transmitted to humans is unknown. Other coronaviruses have been transmitted to humans through a vector. For example, the SARS-CoV-1 virus that caused the 2002-04 epidemic probably originated in raccoons or muskrats.
“Finding an animal with a SARS-CoV-2 infection is like looking for fleas in a haystack.” You can never find a bat or other animal with the virus, “said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University in New York.
Investigating the origins of the virus can take years and may lead nowhere, and it must take into account transnational relations between China and the United States. The US president calls the virus “the virus from China, while the Chinese government is trying to prove that it is not a virus from China,” said Linfa Wang, a virologist at Duke School of Medicine – National University of Singapore at Singapore. The political responsibility game said critical details about the China investigation had not been made public, said Wang, who was part of the WHO mission investigating the origins of SARS in China in 2003.
Investigation begins in Wuhan
An international team of epidemiologists, virologists and researchers with expertise in public health, veterinary medicine and food hygiene will lead the WHO investigation on COVID-19.
The initial research will likely be conducted by researchers already in China, with the rest of the researchers going to China after first examining the initial results.
In Wuhan, researchers will carefully investigate the fresh meat market in Huanan, which was visited by many of the early COVID-19 cases. The exact role of this market in the spread of the virus is unknown.
The first investigations took a sample of frozen animals that had been slaughtered in the market, but no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 was found. However, a virus was detected in sewage samples. “Preliminary studies have not yielded results that may limit the scope of the investigation,” the report said.
The WHO mission will investigate wildlife and animals on farms that are sold in the market, such as foxes, raccoons and deer. They will also investigate other markets in Wuhan and trace the origins of animals passing through China. Researchers will prioritize animals that can be infected with the virus, such as cats and mink.
The team will also analyze records from the Wuhan hospital to find out if the virus had spread as early as December 2019. The researchers will interview the first people diagnosed with COVID-19 to identify who was exposed and examine the samples for the presence of antibodies collected by healthcare professionals, laboratory technicians, and farmers weeks and months before December 2019.
Long term plans
The initial investigation in Wuhan will provide evidence for long-term studies on the origin of the pandemic, which could extend beyond China. “The location of the pandemic for the first time does not necessarily reflect where it started,” the WHO report said.
Many experts believe that the direct source of SARS-CoV-2 is more likely to be bats outside of China, Wang said. He believes the WHO team should investigate bats and other wildlife in Southeast Asia for antibodies. against SARS-CoV-2.
Research should also prioritize fur-reared mammals such as raccoons and muskrats, which played a significant role in the SARS epidemic in 2002. “It is surprising that these animals are not mentioned in the report and” No we have information from China on whether these animals have been tested, “said Martin Beer, a virologist at the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health in Riems, Germany.
A WHO spokesperson said the mission would be science-driven and would investigate any possible hypotheses that could answer or reduce the chances of the virus materializing.
Source: skai.gr
