[Source]
A new study published in the journal Cell supports the theory that COVID-19 originated from the wildlife trade at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China.
Based on more than 800 surface samples collected in early 2020, the study found genetic material from raccoon dogs, bamboo rats, civet cats and other wild animals in areas heavily infected with the virus, suggesting that these animals may have been infected and could have transmitted SARS-CoV-2 — the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — to humans.
Speaking to AFP, co-author and evolutionary biologist Florence Debarre explained that they cannot determine whether the animals at the market were infected or not, but their research confirms that there were wild animals in the southwest corner of the market in late 2019, which is also an area where “a lot” of SARS-CoV-2 has been found. Furthermore, both the “A” and “B” lineages of the virus that circulated early in the pandemic were found in market samples. Despite ongoing debates about a lab leak – the other leading theory of origin – all available data points to a spillover event that likely occurred at the market, Debarre said.
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