No bats, no lab leaks. New evidence suggests that raccoon dogs, a popular breed in China, may be responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of French scientists have published an analysis that shows that in the genetic material collected in January 2020, there was DNA from this animal mixed with the coronavirus virus., at the Chinese market in Wuhan. It was in this place that the first cases of the diseased in the world were detected.
Raccoon dogs are nocturnal predators from the fox family. They are bred by the millions on Chinese farms, which then sell the skins. The collected evidence also contained DNA of civets and other mammalspublished a magazine The science.
Several researchers presented the discovery last Tuesday to a World Health Organization (WHO) panel of experts. The discovery weakens the idea that an accident at a virology lab in Wuhan was the cause of the pandemic. “Data further points to a market originThis was stated by evolutionary biologist Scripps Research Christian Andersen, who was present at the meeting at the WHO. The science.
Samples with raccoon dog DNA and COVID-19 virus were specially collected at Huanan Seafood Market. This type of business is known for the illegal sale of various types of food and animals without safety and hygiene controls.
China censors find about raccoon dogs and COVID-19 virus
Chinese censorship has delayed the discovery that raccoon dogs are linked to the origin of COVID-19. The international scientific community was not aware of these samples until early March 2023.when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in China uploaded information to GISAID, a large global data bank on influenza viruses and coronavirus that has been in operation since 2008.
The information, however, was immediately withdrawn without any explanation. Fortunately, biologist Florence Debarre from the French National Center for Scientific Research has already downloaded them to her computer. Atlantic Ocean. He found them by chance, conducting another investigation.
It took Debarr five days to analyze all the material and understand its relevance. She and her team are still working on analyzing all the data and hope to publish a final report soon. To do this, they turned to their colleagues in China for help.
“We continue to urge China to be transparent in sharing data, conduct necessary investigations and share results,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference today. “Understanding how the pandemic began remains both a moral and a scientific imperative.”Tedros noted.
Maria Van Kerkhove, lead epidemiologist at the WHO, explained that the new data show that some animals that were on the market, including raccoon dogswere more susceptible to COVID-19 infection. The hypothesis says that it was through these animal species that the virus “jumped” to humans.
Just three years ago, detention began in many countries around the world. Since then, according to WHO, the pandemic COVID has claimed the lives of almost seven million people across the planet.
Source: Hiper Textual
