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WHO sent a team to Wuhan, China, where the virus appeared, to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, which has caused the illness of more than 100 million people worldwide and the death of more than 2.4 million. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic shared details of the team of scientists’ work and their research findings.
Jasarevic said the team focused on 4 main possibilities for the virus to be transmitted to humans: “The team identified four possible hypotheses regarding the transmission of the virus to humans. The first of these; direct zoonotic spread from animals (eg, bats) to humans, the second; through animal species, that is, from the zoonotic reservoir animal to another animal and from there to humans, the third; through the food chain (for example, frozen meat from wild animals that may harbor the virus in their natural habitat) and, fourthly, as a result of a laboratory-related event. “Jasarevic stated that the second possibility is the higher possibility that the virus infects humanity and emphasized that more studies should be carried out in this regard.
DETAILS OF THE VISIT TO THE LABORATORY IN SHARED VUHAN
WHO spokesman Jasarevic explained the details of the team’s visit to the laboratory in Wuhan. Jasarevic said: “The team visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Hubei CDC and the Wuhan CDC. He saw their laboratories and held several meetings with the institute’s laboratory staff, their managers, and individually. They reviewed the health and safety surveillance programs implemented in previous years to prevent the possibility of a leak and the occurrence of such events. They also discussed their research programs and their findings, ”he said.
SHARED RESULTS AS PART OF THE SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION
WHO spokesman Jasarevic stated that the team has been acting on the findings so far and that the cooperation continues to get more findings in the future. “As part of scientific collaboration, it is customary to share data sets for parallel analysis,” said Jasarevic. “This was done for some studies and will be discussed for other aspects that are not yet possible. The team report will summarize the additional work and analysis that needs to be carried out. It will also determine the studies necessary to obtain more data. “The WHO has said since the beginning of the epidemic, understanding the origins is important to guide current action and prevent future outbreaks.”
Jasarevic announced that the team’s full report will be released next week.
