WHO-China study on COVID-19 origin says transmission from bats to humans via another animal 'very likely'
3 years, 8 months ago

WHO-China study on COVID-19 origin says transmission from bats to humans via another animal 'very likely'

ABC  

A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario. Key points: The Associated Press says it has obtained a draft copy of the report that outlines the study's findings Overall, the findings are largely as expected and left many questions unanswered The report found transmission to humans from bats though through a second animal was "likely" to "very likely" A lab leak of the virus is also "extremely unlikely", according to a draft copy of the report, obtained by The Associated Press. A World Health Organization official said late last week that he expected it would be ready for release "in the next few days." They evaluated direct spread from bats to humans as likely, and said that spread through "cold-chain" food products was possible but not likely.

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History of this topic

Wuhan Market: More Likely Origin of COVID-19 Virus Than Previously Thought
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Wuhan Market: More Likely Origin of COVID-19 Virus Than Previously Thought

The Hindu  

A new study suggests that the Wuhan market in China was the origin of the COVID-19 virus. The data, which was shared publicly by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, included genetic material from more than 800 samples collected at the Huanan market shortly after its closure in early 2020. The researchers found that the virus and the …

New genetic research points to Wuhan animal market as origin of COVID pandemic, study says
3 months ago

New genetic research points to Wuhan animal market as origin of COVID pandemic, study says

LA Times  

A convoy of vehicles carrying investigators from the World Health Organization enters the interior of the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, early in the COVID-19 pandemic. “This paper has more evidence that supports the animal origin through the Huanan market.” The analysis published Thursday was based on genetic data gleaned from hundreds of samples gathered in and around the …

New analysis of Wuhan market samples reveal 'specific species' potential carriers of COVID-19 virus
3 months ago

New analysis of Wuhan market samples reveal 'specific species' potential carriers of COVID-19 virus

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: Along with raccoon dogs, considered a prime suspect for passing on the COVID-19 virus to humans, civet cats and bamboo rats are among a list of potential 'intermediate' host animals that were sold at Wuhan's seafood market -- the pandemic's epicentre -- and may have served as a conduit for the pathogen, according to a new study.Bamboo rats, …

Dozens of viruses detected in Chinese fur farm animals
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Dozens of viruses detected in Chinese fur farm animals

The Hindu  

Dozens of viruses have been detected mixing in animals at fur farms in China, some of which are new and have the potential to spill over into humans, researchers said on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Virologist Edward Holmes, who has led research into Covid-19, told AFP he felt that the global fur farming industry “is one most likely ways by …

Humans give more viruses to animals than they give us, study finds
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Humans give more viruses to animals than they give us, study finds

Hindustan Times  

Some of the deadliest diseases to stalk humankind have come from pathogens that jumped from animals to people. "This really highlights our enormous impact on the environment and the animals around us," said Cedric Tan, a doctoral student in computational biology at the University College London Genetics Institute, lead author of the study published this week in the journal Nature …

Revealed: US and China sought to create virus in 2018 similar to Covid
11 months ago

Revealed: US and China sought to create virus in 2018 similar to Covid

Daily Mail  

Bombshell new documents shed light on a shady 2018 project between US and Chinese scientists to create a novel virus with the same rare features seen in Covid. In initial proposals for DEFUSE, the lab work was to be done in a biosafety-level 2 lab, which researchers said would appeal to federal grant-makers as 'highly cost effective' despite the fewer …

8 NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN viruses spark another COVID-like pandemic risk | DEETS HERE
1 year, 1 month ago

8 NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN viruses spark another COVID-like pandemic risk | DEETS HERE

India TV News  

Researchers in China have identified eight never-before-seen viruses on Hainan, a tropical island located in southern China. These viruses were discovered within rodents, and experts have issued a warning, stressing that there is a significant risk of these viruses potentially infecting humans if they breach the species barrier. Notably, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union …

China's 'batwoman' warns there could be more Covid-like 'future outbreaks'
1 year, 3 months ago

China's 'batwoman' warns there could be more Covid-like 'future outbreaks'

India Today  

Known as one of China's best virologists, Shi Zhengli has warned that there is a high possibility of another coronavirus to appear in the future. "If a coronavirus caused diseases to emerge before, there is a high chance it will cause future outbreaks," she said in a study paper written with her colleagues. Shi's team from the Wuhan Institute of …

Nipah outbreak: Bats spotted at farmland owned by index case, say officials
1 year, 3 months ago

Nipah outbreak: Bats spotted at farmland owned by index case, say officials

Hindustan Times  

Kochi: The 47-year-old who died on August 30, considered the index case in the current Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, owned farmland near his home in Maruthonkara panchayat filled with areca nut trees and banana plants where bats are mostly seen, locals and health officials said, offering clues to the cause of the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode district. Health workers …

Humans brought Covid to Wuhan market? Chinese scientist's shocking claim
1 year, 8 months ago

Humans brought Covid to Wuhan market? Chinese scientist's shocking claim

Hindustan Times  

A Chinese scientist claimed that the Covid-19 virus may have originated in humans negating the theory that the virus jumped from animals to humans at the Wuhan market. Tong Yigang of the Beijing University of Chemical Technology said that the genetic sequences of viral samples taken from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan were “almost identical” to those of patients …

China health officials lash out at WHO, defend virus search
1 year, 8 months ago

China health officials lash out at WHO, defend virus search

LA Times  

Shen Hongbing, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks at a press conference on the origins of COVID-19 at the State Council Information Office in Beijing on Saturday. Chinese health officials defended their search for the source of the COVID-19 virus and lashed out Saturday at the World Health Organization after its leader said Beijing …

New study suggests possibility humans introduced COVID-19 to animals
1 year, 8 months ago

New study suggests possibility humans introduced COVID-19 to animals

China Daily  

Humans infected by the COVID-19 virus may have introduced the novel coronavirus to susceptible animals at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, Hubei province, where the first COVID-19 cases were reported, Chinese researchers said on Saturday. Tong Yigang, dean of the College of Life Science and Technology at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, said in a press briefing that no …

Covid ‘most-likely’ jumped from animals to humans, claims new report
1 year, 9 months ago

Covid ‘most-likely’ jumped from animals to humans, claims new report

Hindustan Times  

A new analysis of samples taken from a market in Wuhan, China during the early days of the pandemic are the strongest evidence yet that the Covid-19 virus jumped from animals to humans, some researchers say. “These data do not provide a definitive answer to the question of how the pandemic began,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday in …

Release all Covid-related data after new research: WHO tells China
1 year, 9 months ago

Release all Covid-related data after new research: WHO tells China

Live Mint  

The World Health Organization has asked China to share all the information related to the origin of Covid-19 pandemic this time. New sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as additional genomic data based on samples taken from a live animal market in Wuhan, China in 2020 were briefly uploaded to the GISAID database by Chinese scientists earlier this year, …

WHO calls on China to be transparent in sharing data to determine Covid\'s origins
1 year, 9 months ago

WHO calls on China to be transparent in sharing data to determine Covid\'s origins

Deccan Chronicle  

United Nations/Geneva: The WHO has criticised China for withholding data related to samples taken at a market in Wuhan in 2020 that could have provided vital information about the Covid-19 pandemic's origins, calling on Beijing to be transparent and to share results of investigations it conducts. “The data, from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, relates to samples …

New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market
1 year, 9 months ago

New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market

Associated Press  

BEIJING — Genetic material collected at a Chinese market near where the first human cases of COVID-19 were identified show raccoon dog DNA comingled with the virus, adding evidence to the theory that the virus originated from animals, not from a lab, international experts say. Tedros criticized China for not sharing the genetic information earlier, telling a press briefing that …

New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market
1 year, 9 months ago

New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Genetic material collected at a …

New COVID-19 origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market
1 year, 9 months ago

New COVID-19 origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market

The Hindu  

Genetic material collected at a Chinese market near where the first human cases of COVID-19 were identified show raccoon dog DNA comingled with the virus, adding evidence to the theory that the virus originated from animals, not from a lab, international experts say. Mr. Tedros criticised China for not sharing the genetic information earlier, telling a press briefing that "this …

New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market
1 year, 9 months ago

New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market

LA Times  

Raccoon dogs are seen at a cage in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo. International scientists who examined previously unavailable genetic data from samples collected at a Wuhan, China, market said they found suggestions the pandemic originated in raccoon dogs, not in a lab. Genetic material collected at a Chinese market near where the first human cases of COVID-19 were identified show raccoon …

Three years later, what we know: How did COVID start?
1 year, 9 months ago

Three years later, what we know: How did COVID start?

Al Jazeera  

Three years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, questions linger about the origins of the virus that shut down borders, forced humanity into their homes, battered economies and killed millions of people. In early February, the US Department of Energy’s intelligence agency said with “low confidence” that it believed the virus originated from …

Covid-19 'most likely' leaked from Chinese government controlled lab in Wuhan, says FBI director
1 year, 9 months ago

Covid-19 'most likely' leaked from Chinese government controlled lab in Wuhan, says FBI director

Firstpost  

Washington: Covid-19 pandemic “most likely” originated from a Chinese government controlled lab in Wuhan, said FBI Director Christopher Wray. ‘Covid origin likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan’ In an interview to Fox News, Wray said: “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.” …

Covid 'most likely' leaked from China-controlled lab: FBI director's assertion
1 year, 9 months ago

Covid 'most likely' leaked from China-controlled lab: FBI director's assertion

Hindustan Times  

The Covid virus most likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan in China, FBI director Christopher Wray said. "The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan," Christopher Wray told Fox News in an interview. ”And that's unfortunate for everybody," he added, saying that the …

U.S. agency says COVID came from “lab leak”, China slams “smear”
1 year, 9 months ago

U.S. agency says COVID came from “lab leak”, China slams “smear”

The Hindu  

China on Monday accused the United States of “smearing” the country and “politicising” scientific research, after a government agency in Washington published a report concluding that the COVID-19 pandemic likely began from a laboratory accident. A classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and members of Congress, reported The Wall Street Journal on Monday, said the U.S. Energy …

Lack of info on China’s explosive COVID-19 outbreak stirs global concern
1 year, 11 months ago

Lack of info on China’s explosive COVID-19 outbreak stirs global concern

LA Times  

The U.S., Japan and other countries are concerned that the Chinese government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough about new variants. Moves by several countries to mandate COVID-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak — and that the government may not inform the …

Covid-19 variants still transmissible between species, finds new study
2 years ago

Covid-19 variants still transmissible between species, finds new study

Hindustan Times  

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is still highly transmissible between mammals, according to a study based on computer simulations. The findings, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, show how the viral spike proteins in several SARS-CoV-2 variants interact with the host cell receptors known as ACE2 in both humans and various bats of genus Rhinolophus. "We were hoping to see …

COVID-19 origin theories: Was there a lab leak in Wuhan or the US?
2 years, 1 month ago

COVID-19 origin theories: Was there a lab leak in Wuhan or the US?

Firstpost  

While the Wuhan lab leak theory is in vogue in some quarters, others are pointing the finger at the US. Let’s take a look at the different theories about the origins of COVID-19 Wuhan lab leak hypotheses This, of course, is the origin theory in vogue in some quarters. “The available evidence appears to be inconsistent with both historic precedent …

Report authored by disgraced Peter Daszak says animal to human transmission was most likely scenario
2 years, 2 months ago

Report authored by disgraced Peter Daszak says animal to human transmission was most likely scenario

Daily Mail  

A report co-authored by disgraced scientist Dr Peter Daszak has claimed there is ‘no evidence’ Covid was created in a laboratory. A leaked email from 2020 showed Dr Daszak seeming to express gratitude to Dr Fauci for downplaying the theory that the Covid-19 was created in a lab in Wuhan, China Dr Daszak is considered a potential orchestrator of the …

Vaccine-resistant new COVID-like virus discovered in Russian bats could infect humans, finds study
2 years, 2 months ago

Vaccine-resistant new COVID-like virus discovered in Russian bats could infect humans, finds study

Firstpost  

Washington: A newS-CoV-2-like virus discovered in Russian bats is capable of infecting humans, and is resistant to current vaccines against COVID-19, a study has found. A team led by researchers at Washington State University, US, found spike proteins from the bat virus, named Khosta-2, can infect human cells and is resistant to both the antibody therapies and blood serum from …

Bat coronaviruses silently infect tens of thousands of people each year, posing pandemic risk, study warns
2 years, 4 months ago

Bat coronaviruses silently infect tens of thousands of people each year, posing pandemic risk, study warns

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy There may be an average of over 65,000 cases of bat coronaviruses silently infecting people …

Langya Virus: New zoonotic infection found in China, know its symptoms and precautions
2 years, 4 months ago

Langya Virus: New zoonotic infection found in China, know its symptoms and precautions

India TV News  

Langya Virus: The world is still dealing with Covid 19 and Monkeypox, and now there is a new infection outbreak in China. The new zoonotic virus is named ‘Langya Virus’ by medical researchers, also known as ‘LayV’. Chinese health officials are working on the throat samples they have collected from the patients with symptoms and confirmed Langya virus presence. Symptoms …

China: Animal market in Wuhan was epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic, says new study
2 years, 4 months ago

China: Animal market in Wuhan was epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic, says new study

Firstpost  

The investigation required neighborhood-level study within Wuhan to be more certain the virus was ‘zoonotic’ – that it jumped from animals to people Washington: An animal market in China’s Wuhan really was the epicenter of the Covid pandemic, according to a pair of new studies in the journal Science published Tuesday that claimed to have tipped the balance in the …

New studies bolster theory coronavirus emerged from the wild
2 years, 4 months ago

New studies bolster theory coronavirus emerged from the wild

Associated Press  

Two new studies provide more evidence that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Wuhan, China market where live animals were sold – further bolstering the theory that the virus emerged in the wild rather than escaping from a Chinese lab. “I was quite convinced of the lab leak myself until we dove into this very carefully and looked at it …

COVID-19 virus may survive for 30 days on refrigerated, frozen meat, finds study
2 years, 5 months ago

COVID-19 virus may survive for 30 days on refrigerated, frozen meat, finds study

Firstpost  

The research, recently published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, was conducted using chicken, beef, pork, and salmon, and surrogate viruses with spikes similar to those on SARS-CoV-2 Washington: The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, may survive on meat and fish products in the refrigerator or the freezer for up to 30 days, a study suggests. The research, recently …

Covid virus likely leaked from Wuhan lab: WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus
2 years, 6 months ago

Covid virus likely leaked from Wuhan lab: WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus

India TV News  

Highlights Most likely explanation for Covid was a catastrophic accident at laboratory in Wuhan, says WHO chief Publicly, the UN health agency maintains that "all hypotheses remain on the table" At the beginning of the Covid, WHO was criticised for its deferential approach to China Just days after saying that the Covid lab leak theory needs "further investigations", the World …

COVID origin | WHO says it’s unclear but lab leak theory needs study
2 years, 6 months ago

COVID origin | WHO says it’s unclear but lab leak theory needs study

The Hindu  

Over two years after the coronavirus was first detected in China, and after at least 6.3 million deaths have been counted worldwide from the pandemic, the World Health Organisation is recommending in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may be to blame. Yet in a report released on Thursday, WHO's expert …

COVID-19's origins obscured by lack of Chinese data, says WHO panel
2 years, 6 months ago

COVID-19's origins obscured by lack of Chinese data, says WHO panel

ABC  

The World Health Organization says its latest investigation into the origins of COVID-19 was inconclusive, largely because data from China is missing, another blow to its years-long effort to determine how the pandemic began. Key points: The WHO expert panel says all available data showed the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 likely came from bats They say missing data meant …

Pandemic’s origins obscured by lack of Chinese data: WHO panel
2 years, 6 months ago

Pandemic’s origins obscured by lack of Chinese data: WHO panel

Live Mint  

The World Health Organization said on Thursday its latest investigation into the origins of COVID-19 was inconclusive, largely because data from China is missing, another blow to its years-long effort to determine how the pandemic began. The report from the WHO expert panel said all available data showed the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 probably came from animals, likely bats, …

COVID origins: WHO ‘open to any and all scientific evidence’
2 years, 6 months ago

COVID origins: WHO ‘open to any and all scientific evidence’

Al Jazeera  

UN health agency says latest investigation into origins of COVID-19 was inconclusive and more research must be done, including the possibility of a laboratory accident. That stance by the World Health Organization expert group marks a sharp reversal of the UN health agency’s initial assessment of the pandemic’s origins, when it concluded last year it was “extremely unlikely” that COVID-19 …

COVID-19 origins unclear, but lab leak theory needs study, WHO says
2 years, 6 months ago

COVID-19 origins unclear, but lab leak theory needs study, WHO says

LA Times  

A worker in protective gear walks outside the Wuhan Central Hospital in China in February 2021. The scientists said the group would “remain open to any and all scientific evidence that becomes available in the future to allow for comprehensive testing of all reasonable hypotheses.” Identifying a disease’s source in animals typically takes years; it took about 15 years for …

Why pangolins may not be the intermediate host
2 years, 7 months ago

Why pangolins may not be the intermediate host

The Hindu  

The origin debate on novel coronavirus is yet to be settled. However, the scientists were not able to find infectious pangolin coronavirus in organs other than the respiratory system and brain, which is different from hamsters infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus. Viral shedding by hamsters infected with pangolin coronavirus lasted for three days, while hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2 shed virus for …

Africa contained monkeypox outbreaks during COVID – Africa CDC
2 years, 7 months ago

Africa contained monkeypox outbreaks during COVID – Africa CDC

Al Jazeera  

A handful of cases of the virus have now been reported or are suspected in the UK, US, Portugal and Spain. Several outbreaks of monkeypox in Africa have been contained during the COVID pandemic while the world’s attention was elsewhere, and outbreaks in Europe and the United States are a concern, it’s top public health agency has said. In a …

COVID-19: The endless search for the origins of the virus
2 years, 8 months ago

COVID-19: The endless search for the origins of the virus

Al Jazeera  

Two years after a pandemic was declared, scientists continue to debate how the coronavirus behind COVID-19 came to infect humans. “It isn’t fantastical to say there’s a cover-up.” For Chan and all those who argue that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could have originated from a lab, so long as an intermediary animal host that had passed the virus from bats to …

Pet hamsters can pass on Covid to humans, study suggests
2 years, 9 months ago

Pet hamsters can pass on Covid to humans, study suggests

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, …

First likely case of Covid jumping from wild deer to a human reported in Canada
2 years, 9 months ago

First likely case of Covid jumping from wild deer to a human reported in Canada

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, …

The hamsters of Hong Kong offer a cautionary COVID tale
2 years, 10 months ago

The hamsters of Hong Kong offer a cautionary COVID tale

NPR  

The hamsters of Hong Kong offer a cautionary COVID tale Enlarge this image toggle caption Bertha Wang/AFP via Getty Images Bertha Wang/AFP via Getty Images Hamsters can infect people with the coronavirus, which then goes on to spread among the human population — that's the assertion in a new study about the events of mid-January, when Hong Kong announced that …

'Early version of Covid-19' is discovered in Chinese lab
2 years, 10 months ago

'Early version of Covid-19' is discovered in Chinese lab

Daily Mail  

Scientists have found traces of coronavirus that could bolster the theory that the pandemic began with a leak from a laboratory. Scientists have found traces of coronavirus that could bolster the theory that the pandemic began with a leak from a laboratory Scientists in Hungary found traces of a unique variant of coronavirus while examining DNA from soil from Antarctica …

Leak from Wuhan lab the 'more likely' origin of Covid pandemic: Molecular biologist tells UK Parliament
3 years ago

Leak from Wuhan lab the 'more likely' origin of Covid pandemic: Molecular biologist tells UK Parliament

India Today  

A Canadian molecular biologist on Wednesday told cross-party members of Parliament on the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee that a leak from a laboratory in Wuhan region of China is now the "more likely" origin of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Dr Alina Chan, specialising in gene therapy and cell engineering and co-author of 'Viral: The Search for the …

Pandemic mystery: Scientists focus on COVID’s animal origins
3 years ago

Pandemic mystery: Scientists focus on COVID’s animal origins

Associated Press  

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the origin of the virus tormenting the world remains shrouded in mystery. “The lab-leak scenario gets a lot of attention, you know, on places like Twitter,” but “there’s no evidence that this virus was in a lab,” said University of Utah scientist Stephen Goldstein, who with 20 others wrote an article in the …

Pandemic mystery: Scientists focus on covid’s animal origins
3 years ago

Pandemic mystery: Scientists focus on covid’s animal origins

Live Mint  

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the origin of the virus tormenting the world remains shrouded in mystery. “The lab-leak scenario gets a lot of attention, you know, on places like Twitter,” but “there’s no evidence that this virus was in a lab,” said University of Utah scientist Stephen Goldstein, who with 20 others wrote an article in the …

Column: A new research paper adds to the evidence that COVID-19 came from animals, not a Chinese lab
3 years, 1 month ago

Column: A new research paper adds to the evidence that COVID-19 came from animals, not a Chinese lab

LA Times  

Medical staff help a patient walk into the hospital in Wuhan, China, in January 2020 as the pandemic was beginning. A new peer-reviewed research paper points to the likelihood that the COVID-19 pandemic originated at a seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan, China, rather than from a Chinese laboratory studying bat viruses. Worobey’s finding that the earliest identified COVID-19 cases …

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