Research conclusion: corona outbreak started at animal market in Wuhan
The corona pandemic has almost certainly started at an animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. An international group of researchers, including the Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans, concludes that. Their article has been published in the authoritative scientific journal Science.
gjsSource: BELGA
At the end of 2019, a new, unknown disease appeared in Wuhan. Dozens of people suffered from severe pneumonia. An investigation revealed that they had contracted a new coronavirus, which was scientifically named SARS-CoV-2. From the beginning, the Huanan animal market was mentioned as the place where they might have become infected, and thus the possible germ of the epidemic. There could also be other places in and around Wuhan, such as a laboratory.
Now, the researchers conclude that the Huanan pet market was “the early epicenter of the pandemic.” The first eight people who were found to have the virus all worked on the practices side of the animal market. Mammals were sold there. The first 155 corona patients all lived around the market, and people living further away in Wuhan had ties to the market. Traces of the coronavirus were also found on the market site itself. For example, particles on a cage, two carts, a water drain and on a device to remove feathers.
Several traders in the Wuhan market sold live wild animals, such as foxes, pig badgers and raccoon dogs. Some people eat those animals, but they can also be used for their fur. The animals are “plausible words” of the coronavirus. How the animals themselves contracted the virus has not become clear, according to the researchers.