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| The researchers used a technique called "molecular clock analysis," which relies on the rate at which genetic mutations occur over time to reconstruct a timeline of evolution - and found it unlikely that A gave rise to B. Early COVID-19 cases were clustered around the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, a new study shows (File photo by= AFP/File/Hector Retamal) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] WASHINGTON: An animal market in China's Wuhan really was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a pair of new studies in the journal Science published Tuesday (Jul 26) that claimed to have tipped the balance in the debate about the virus' origins, AFP reported.
Answering the question of whether the disease spilled over naturally from animals to humans, or was the result of a lab accident, is viewed as vital to averting the next pandemic and saving millions of lives. The first paper analyzed the geographic pattern of COVID-19 cases in the outbreak's first month, December 2019, showing the first cases were tightly clustered around Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. Both were previously posted as "preprints" but have now been vetted by scientific peer review and appear in a prestigious journal. Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, who co-authored both papers, had previously called on the scientific community in a letter to be more open to the idea that the virus was the result of a lab leak.
The study authors also tied positive samples from patients in early 2020 to the western portion of the market, which sold live or freshly butchered animals in late 2019. The WHO's technical lead for COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, welcomed the studies' publication in a tweet on Tuesday.
