New Data Supports Animal Market Origins for COVID Pandemic [Video]

Key Takeaways

A new genetic analysis adds to the evidence that the pandemic started in Wuhan, ChinaSamples show the presence at Hunan Seafood Wholesale of animal species known to carry coronavirusThe study is based on more than 800 samples collected by China’s CDC

THURSDAY, Sept. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The Hunan Seafood Wholesale wet market in Wuhan, China, has long been considered the most likely source of the coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

That theory is now supported by a new study analyzing more than 800 samples collected in and around the market in January 2020 as the pandemic began.

Those samples show that animal species known to carry the COVID coronavirus were present in the market, according to results published Sept. 18 in the journal Cell.

“This paper adds another layer to the accumulating evidence that all points to the same scenario: that infected animals were introduced into the market …