[ad_1]
WUHAN, China: Members of a World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic visited another Wuhan hospital that had treated early COVID-19 patients on their second full day of work on Saturday (30 from January).
Jinyantan Hospital was one of the first in the city to treat patients in early 2020 suffering from a then unknown virus and is a key part of the epidemiological history of the disease.
Members of the World Health Organization team, including Ken Maeda, right, prepare to depart for a second day of field visit in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, on Saturday, 30. January 2021 (Photo: AP / Ng Han Guan).
The team’s first face-to-face meetings with Chinese scientists were held on Friday, before experts who specialize in animal health, virology, food safety and epidemiology visited another site early in the outbreak, the Integrated Hospital of Chinese Medicine and Western Hubei.
The Geneva-based WHO said Thursday night on Twitter that its team plans to visit hospitals, markets such as the Huanan Seafood Market that was linked to many of the early cases, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and laboratories in facilities such as the Wuhan Disease Center. Control.
“All hypotheses are on the table as the team follows science in their work to understand the origins of the COVID19 virus,” WHO tweeted. He said the team had already requested “detailed underlying data” and planned to speak with first responders and some early patients.
The mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak.
READ: White House demands ‘robust’ international investigation into COVID-19 origins
A single visit by scientists is unlikely to confirm the origin of the virus. Determining the animal reservoir for an outbreak is often a comprehensive endeavor that requires years of research, including animal sampling, genetic testing, and epidemiological studies.
Security personnel jump through a barrier at the entrance to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, where a team from the World Health Organization visited Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province on Saturday, January 30, 2021 ( Photo: AP / Ng Han Guan).
One possibility is that a wildlife poacher passed the virus to the traders who brought it to Wuhan. The Chinese government has promoted theories, with little evidence, that the outbreak could have started with imports of frozen seafood contaminated with the virus, a notion that scientists and international agencies roundly rejected.
One possible focus for researchers is the Wuhan Institute of Virology. One of China’s leading virus research laboratories, created an archive of genetic information on bat coronaviruses after the 2003 SARS outbreak, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
