An investigation by the World Health Organization into the origin of the coronavirus in China has found that there may have been cases of coronavirus in China two months earlier than originally identified.
A four-week investigation showed that there were more than 900 people in central China who were hospitalized for coronavirus symptoms two months before December 8, 2019, the day China says the first coronavirus patient was found, the Wall Street Journal reported. Report.
The WHO wants China to test blood samples from a wider population from the fall of 2019 to confirm their theory, but Chinese officials said they have not yet been allowed to test them, WHO investigators told WSJ.
Chinese authorities tested antibodies on some 90 patients diagnosed with coronavirus symptoms last fall, but no antibodies were found. However, WHO investigators think they just waited too long to test them and the antibodies subsided, WSJ says.
It is unclear how long the antibodies to the coronavirus last in the body, as there is debate as to whether they last a few weeks or months.
Blood samples and medical records have been examined, but no evidence has been found that the virus appeared before December 2019. Liang Wanian, head of the coronavirus panel of China’s National Health Commission, said on Tuesday,
Further studies and blood sampling will be needed to determine if coronavirus was around before December 2019.
.
