The origin of COVID-19 has been a controversial topic, with many theories and conspiracies surrounding it. Scientists have been studying the virus and its origins, with one report finding that furin cleavage sites in coronaviruses have been detected in 24 animal hosts in 28 countries since 1954. Meanwhile, researchers have been trying to identify how the virus passed into human populations. Despite extensive investigations, it is still impossible to definitively prove or disprove the theories surrounding its origin. The recent declassification of information by President Biden and the signing of the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 have added to the ongoing debate. However, it is believed that the ruling elites in Washington will use the “bogus lab-leak conspiracy theory” to further their anti-China agenda. Finally, obtaining more scientific data could help establish the true origin of the virus.
Study Finds SARS-CoV-2 RNA Mixed with Wildlife DNA at Wuhan Wet Market
A new study by Dr. Florence Débarre and colleagues has provided the first scientific evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA mixed with the DNA of various wild animals being sold at the Huanan wet market in Wuhan. The research offers a major setback to the US right-wing media’s claims that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The full report, which was released on the Zenodo website on March 21, analyzed genetic sequences from the market’s environmental samples collected in January and February 2020. The results linked the DNA of several other animals from the market to the virus that causes COVID-19, further supporting the theory of a zoonotic origin, where the virus jumps from animals to humans.
The study found genetic evidence of susceptible wildlife among positive SARS-CoV-2 samples at the Huanan market, including raccoon dogs and other wild animals. The discovery of these animals’ DNA mixed with SARS-CoV-2 RNA provides further compelling evidence that the wet market was the epicenter for the pandemic’s origin in late 2019.
Dr. Débarre and her team had come across a set of genetic sequences publicly posted on the database of the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) from the market. They downloaded approximately half-a-terabyte of genetic sequences for around fifty different samples that included drains, market stalls and carts, as well as the grounds in the Huanan market. The study’s introductory remarks by Dr. Débarre note that they almost by chance stumbled upon the sequences and referred to them as “the ones we’ve been waiting for, for a year.”
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is natural and not artificial, as some US media outlets claim, based on zero evidence. The study provides further scientific evidence that the virus is zoonotic and jumps from animals to humans, and not the result of a lab leak in China.
Study Shows 38 Wildlife Species Sold in Wuhan Wet Markets Before COVID-19
A study published in Nature titled “Animal sales from Wuhan wet markets immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic” reveals that between May 2017 and November 2019, over 47,000 animals from 38 species, including 31 protected species, were sold in Wuhan wet markets. The study refutes earlier claims of pangolins being sold in the market, which were unlikely to have caused the spillover into human populations. The report notes the absence of pangolin DNA and that five different species of wildlife—raccoon dog, Malayan porcupine, Amur Hedgehog, masked palm civet, and hoary bamboo rat—were present.
The Chinese authorities had initially denied the existence of susceptible animals that could function as potential intermediary hosts for a zoonotic spillover into humans. However, the study provides evidence that such animals were sold in Wuhan wet markets before the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Peter Daszak, the president of EcoHealth Alliance, had earlier suggested that pangolins were doubtful to have played a role in the outbreak and that researchers needed to keep looking for the original reservoir.
The study also reveals that Débarre and colleagues notified the former head of the Chinese CDC, George Gao, on March 10, 2023, of animal species linked to SARS-CoV-2 in the genetic samples, which were subsequently made unavailable the next day. The Chinese CDC had previously reported in a February 2022 investigation that no infected animals were identified after the market was closed down on January 1, 2020. The report revealed that no virus was detected in animal swabs covering 18 species of animals in the market.
The study’s findings provide critical evidence to support the theory that susceptible animals in the Wuhan wet market served as an intermediary host for the COVID-19 virus to jump from animals to humans.
WHO Convenes with Epidemiologists to Review Débarre Group’s Findings
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified of the Débarre group’s findings, which were then reviewed by leading epidemiologists Michael Worobey, Edward Holmes, and Kristian Andersen from SAGO, the WHO-convened Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel pathogens, the following day.
The published report notes that the CCDC team’s findings are not available for comment, but the findings from the Débarre group’s analyses have already been shared in the media and public statements by the WHO. The meeting served as an effort to establish a collaborative relationship with the CCDC to share data and findings as quickly as possible.
Débarre acknowledges the important work done by the CCDC, recognizing that “We wouldn’t have this data, if it wasn’t for their work.” Scientific and open collaboration is necessary to address the origin question, rather than the right-wing demonization of China that is increasing once again.
Scientists have been studying how the coronavirus passed into human populations since the SARS epidemic two decades ago. Research into specific features like the furin cleavage site and the adaptive mechanisms of the virus to jump into other species is critical. The acquisition of such genetic characteristics is more common than previously understood, according to research.
The furin cleavage site has been an issue of both scientific and political importance, with right-wing conspiracy theorists suggesting that it could not have evolved naturally and must have been specially engineered in a laboratory.
A report published in 2021 explored the diversification and distribution of furin cleavage sites in coronaviruses worldwide. Furin cleavage sites have been identified in 86 types of coronaviruses across 24 animal hosts in 28 countries since 1954. The report states that most of these sites could pose unexpected threats to humans or other mammals. Notably, four of the seven coronaviruses that are known to infect humans carry furin cleavage sites, including two highly pathogenic viruses, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, evidence suggests that coronaviruses’ furin cleavage sites have a high frequency of recombination, indicating that the frequency of recombination of coronaviruses’ furin cleavage sites may have been underestimated.
The Origins of SARS-CoV-2
In early February 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIH Director Francis Collins, and Dr. Jeremey Farrar assembled an international group of leading scientists to study the origins of COVID-19. Their work eventually led to a paper titled “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2,” which is still relevant today. The authors of the report include scientists who were involved in the investigation of the novel coronavirus’s origins in late January 2020 when they first raised concerns that it may have been bio-engineered.
After analyzing the available data, the scientists concluded that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus. While it is currently impossible to prove or disprove the other theories of its origin, the authors believe that no laboratory-based scenario is plausible. Notably, the authors observed all notable SARS-CoV-2 features, including the optimized RBD and polybasic cleavage site (Furin Cleavage Site), in related coronaviruses in nature.
Conclusion
The understanding of how the novel coronavirus passed into human populations remains a critical question for scientists. The study of furin cleavage sites in coronaviruses worldwide has revealed their potential to cause unexpected threats to humans and other mammals. Meanwhile, the investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2 has concluded that it is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus. Although it is impossible to prove or disprove other theories of its origin, it is unlikely that any laboratory-based scenario is plausible.
The search for the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still ongoing, and the discovery of related viral sequences from animal sources is crucial in revealing the true origins of the virus. According to a group of scientists, obtaining more scientific data could help swing the balance of evidence and favor one hypothesis over another.
Malicious Conspiracy Theories in US Politics
Despite the accumulation of evidence supporting the zoonotic spillover of SARS-CoV-2, US politics is plagued by malicious and unfounded conspiracy theories. The recent congressional hearings on COVID origins aimed to lend political legitimacy to the reactionary notion that the virus causing COVID was bio-engineered and leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
New Legislation and Anti-China Agenda
Recently, President Joe Biden signed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, a bill that requires the Director of National Intelligence to declassify all pertinent information regarding the WIV and COVID-19. While there is unanimous support for this bill from both parties, it is believed that the release of the intelligence data will be couched in the most malignant terms, regardless of the weight of evidence that continues to be discovered.
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