- Investigators from the World Health Organization (WHO) looking into the origins of coronavirus in China have discovered signs of the outbreak.
- The outbreak was much wider in Wuhan in December 2019 than previously thought, and are urgently seeking access to hundreds of thousands of blood samples from the city.
- Whereas, China has not so far let them examine.
A recent news published in the CNN reveals that WHO mission finds footprints of possible outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan.
WHO mission
The lead investigator for the WHO mission is Mr. Peter Ben Embarek.
The mission had found several signs of the more wide-ranging 2019 spread.
Establishing for the first time there were over a dozen strains of the virus in Wuhan already in December.
The team also had a chance to speak to the first patient Chinese officials said had been infected, an office worker in his 40s, with no travel history of note, reported infected on December 8.
Ben Embarek, who has just returned to Switzerland from Wuhan, told CNN: “The virus was circulating widely in Wuhan in December, which is a new finding.”
Ben Embarek said it was possible this larger number — of likely severe cases that had been noticed by Chinese doctors early on — meant the disease could have hit an estimated 1,000-plus people in Wuhan that December.
Whom does WHO mission comprises of ?
The mission comprises of 17 WHO scientists and 17 Chinese — had broadened the type of virus genetic material they examined from early coronavirus cases that first December.
This allowed them to look at partial genetic samples, rather than just complete ones, he said.
As a result, they were able to gather for the first time 13 different genetic sequences of the SARS-COV-2 virus from December 2019.
The sequences, if examined with wider patient data in China across 2019, could provide valuable clues about the geography and timing of the outbreak before December.
Ben Embarek said: “Some of them are from the markets… Some of them are not linked to the markets,” which includes the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, thought to have played a role in the virus’ first spread.
“This is something we found as part of our mission… part of the interaction we had all together.”
How did WHO Mission analyze
Ben Embarek said the mission was given analysis by Chinese scientists of 92 suspected Covid-19 cases from October and November 2019 –patients who had Covid-like symptoms and were severely ill.
The WHO team asked these 92 be tested in January this year for antibodies. Of these, 67 agreed to be tested and all proved negative, Ben Embarek said.
He added that further tests were needed as it remains unclear if antibodies remain in former Covid-19 patients as long as a year later.
China promises cooperation
China has pledged transparency with the WHO investigation.
Responding to US criticisms that it should provide access to its earlier raw data, the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC said:
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Source: CNN
