For nearly as long as COVID-19 began making its impacts globally, how the deadly virus originated has been a topic of hot debate among reputable scientists, conspiracy theorists and the average civilian alike. Recent research is leading virologists to reaffirm their original theory that coronavirus spread from Wuhan, China’s wet market.
“It tells us that there’s a big red flashing arrow pointing at Huanan Market as the most likely place that the pandemic started,”Michael Worobey, a researcher who is specialized in the origins and spread of viral epidemics, said CNN. “The virus didn’t come from some other part of Wuhan and then get to Huanan market. The evidence speaks really quite strongly to the virus starting at the market and then leaking into the neighborhoods around the market.”
Worobey is a well-known scientist who was one of the 18 that called for an investigation to all possible sources in May. He was open to the possibility of COVID-19 being leaked from a laboratory.
But after tracing the timeline of each confirmed case of COVID-19 in Dec. 2019 and Jan. 2020 in his published research, he found evidence that supported the original belief that the coronavirus, now responsible for killing more than 5 million people around the world, began from animals at the Wuhan wet market and spread to humans.
“I wouldn’t call this conclusive evidence, but I would call this pretty darn strong evidence,”CNN spoke with Worobey.
His research also dispelled some myths surrounding the idea that COVID-19 was derived from the wet markets, such as what is called the “Theatrical Myths.” “earliest” COVID-19 case of a 41-year-old man who had no connection to the wet market. Officials claimed that his condition began on December 8, 2019. However, it was actually a misclassified problem with his teeth and his fight against COVID-19 began on December 16.
But a definitive answer to the origins of COVID-19 may never be possible. Worobey said that China destroyed all animals, disinfected the market in January 2020 to stop further spread and destroyed evidence.
The World Health Organization also conducted an investigation into the pandemic and determined that animals were the most likely source. However, it asked China for more information and access to aid officials in arriving at a more definitive conclusion. China has yet to respond to their request.