March 29, 2021 – The new coronavirus was most likely transmitted from bats to humans by another mammalian species, while a laboratory leak of the virus is “extremely unlikely” according to a draft joint report by the World Health Organization and China on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, obtained from the Associated Press.
The findings are largely based on a WHO team’s visit earlier this year to Wuhan, the Chinese city where COVID-19 was first detected.
The study notes that the closest relative of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been found in bats, but “the evolutionary gap between these bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, suggesting a lack of association “reported the AP.
Very similar viruses have been found in pangolins, but minks and cats are susceptible to the COVID-19 virus, suggesting that they could also be carriers, according to the study.
The draft of the study all but dismissed a speculative theory that the virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, the AP reported.
There is no firm conclusion as to whether the pandemic started from a Wuhan fish market, where one of the earliest cases occurred in December 2019.
The study has been completed and has been reviewed and translated, Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO expert who led the Wuhan mission, told the AP.
“I assume that the whole process will be completed in the next few days and that we can publish it publicly,” he said.
It is not clear if there will be changes to the study before it is published. The WHO did not immediately respond to the AP’s requests for comments.
The draft of the study offers little new insights into the global spread of the virus and leaves many questions unanswered. The researchers suggested further research in all areas except laboratory leak theory.
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