A little over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, the WHO research team is set to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus. Experts believe the virus SARS-Cov-2 began in animals in China, most likely originating in batsm before jumping to humans.
Fabian Leendertz, a biologist at Germany’s Robert Koch Institute and a member of the WHO’s 10-person mission team, will be working with Chinese scientists for four to five weeks in Wuhan. He said the research team will look at stored medical samples and x-rays from before the first known outbreak to see if the virus was circulating earlier. The team will also take samples from bats and other species to try and track down the animal in which the virus first emerged. “Then to see where that tract leads us, if its another city or if it stays in Wuhan or where that goes,” Leendertz said. “The big scope is to try to find out what happened. How the virus jumped from which animal to perhaps an intermediate host and then to humans, to reconstruct the scenario. The WHO mission will also investigate the wild and farmed animals sold at the market, including foxes, raccoons and sika deer. The researchers will prioritize animals that are known to be susceptible to the virus, such as cats and minks.
Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University, however said that finding an animal with a SARS-CoV-2 infection is like looking for a needle in the world’s largest haystack. “They may never find a smoking bat or other animal. It will be key for the investigators to establish a collaborative relationship with scientists and government officials in China.”
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According to Nature, researchers in Wuhan will take a closer look at the Huanan meat and animal market, which many of the earliest people diagnosed with COVID-19 had visited. Early investigations sampled frozen animal carcasses at the market, but no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 was found. However, environmental samples, taken mostly from drains and sewage, did test positive for the virus.
