- Scientists warn that the search for the origin of Covid-19 is at a standstill.
- The first report concluded that the virus may have been transmitted from bats to humans through intermediate animals.
- Scientists warn that the window of opportunity for investigations is rapidly closing.
The UN scientist responsible for the mission warned on Wednesday that although time is running out, the search for the origin of Covid-19, which has caused millions of deaths and economic paralysis, is still at a standstill.
The World Health Organization (WHO) team concluded that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may be transmitted from bats to humans through intermediate animals based on a preliminary report made by a visit to Wuhan, China (zero ground of the global pandemic) in January.
The competitive hypothesis that the virus leaked from a specialized virology laboratory in Wuhan was considered “extremely impossible.”
But in a commentary in the journal Nature, the scientists stated that the mission was only “the first step in a process that has stalled.”
They wrote: “The search for the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is at a critical juncture.”
The window of opportunity for this critical investigation is quickly closing.
As evidence disappears or is destroyed, it becomes more difficult to trace biological traces to the earliest part of the disease.
The statement was issued less than two weeks after the WHO urged China to hand over information about the earliest Covid-19 cases in order to resume investigations.
WHO experts said this should include data on 174 cases of Covid-19 confirmed in December 2019 that China failed to share during the initial investigation.
WHO investigators said at the time that they “have agreed” that the second phase of the study will fill this gap.
But China refuted the WHO’s request earlier this month, saying that the January survey was sufficient and that the motive for requesting more data was politics rather than science.
Beijing is particularly shy about the idea that the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan virology laboratory.
On Tuesday, U.S. intelligence agencies submitted a report to President Joe Biden on the hypothesis of animal transmission and “laboratory leaks.” The results of the survey were described as uncertain.
The WHO team pointed out in its comments that the current data does not support the laboratory leak scenario.
None of the six priorities for further research mentioned this possibility.
Instead, scientists emphasized the need to track the earliest Covid cases through disease reports and antibody surveys inside and outside China.
They also called for further investigations into wild animal farms and wild bats.
They said: “As the SARS-CoV-2 antibody weakens, collecting more samples and testing people who may have been in contact before December 2019 will have diminishing returns.”
It added that many wild animal farms interested in conducting research have been closed and their livestock have been killed.
